Abundance of Austen

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=115754350583819625043.0004926e9974a5712fc14

The link above shows a map of England with notable places from the life and times of Jane Austen. Any self-acclaimed Janeite dreams of touring the Lake District, visiting the infamous region of Lyme, and seeing the splendor of Bath. She (or he) might even throw a temper tantrum worthy of Lydia to get her (or his) way- cue "But I want to go to Brighton!!!"
I have created a map to aid any Janeites in their tour of England. In blue, I have included several locations related to Jane Austen, such as her birthplace. Many places mentioned in her novels are fictional (sadly, Pemberly is included on the fictional list- you'll have to try elsewhere to find your Mr. Darcy). However, you can actually visit some locations from the novels. I tagged several of them in purple. Enjoy!

NEOGEOGRAPHY

Neogeography means "new geography." It is a form of map making in which people can "do it themselves." Some of the pitfalls of neogeography are that you don't always know whether the map is correct. There is no way to check a cartographer's sources. Using my map above as an example, an average non-Austen reader and Google user who stumbles across my map would not be able to tell if I actually included places relating to Jane Austen or simply made up the back stories about each location. (In case you were wondering, I did not make them up. All credit goes to Jane.) Also, if someone were to actually plan a vacation using my map, how would they know that I actually put Box Hill's marker on Box Hill? I could be trying to advertise for a restaurant and a traveler could wind up at a local bakery, or something more sinister. A pitfall of neogeography is not knowing if you can trust the creator of the map.
On the other hand, neogeography has boundless potential. People in highly specialized areas (such as fans of Jane Austen) can create maps that are relevant to them very easily without having to pay some company or the government to do it for them. You can send directions to your house via email to your study group so they don't have to consult an atlas. It makes navigating the world much easier. A consequence of neogeography is including more people. When you had to have official paper maps, it was difficult to deal with geography. Now, theoretically, even a child could go onto Google maps and figure out how to walk to school. It eliminates some of the reliance we have on government bodies to create up to date maps, as we can now do that ourselves. However it also creates a question as to how we are going to regulate new maps and whether that is even possible.

9021oh!

WEEK 2

1. What is the name of the quadrangle?

Beverly Hills, CA

2. What are the names of the adjacent quadrangles?

Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, Inglewood

3. When was the quadrangle first created?

1995

4. What datum was used to create your map?

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929

5. What is the scale of the map?

1:24,000

6. At the above scale, answer the following:

a) 5 centimeters on the map is equivalent to how many meters on the ground? 

1200 meters

b) 5 inches on the map is equivalent to how many miles on the ground? 

1.8939 miles

c) one mile on the ground is equivalent to how many inches on the map?

2.64 inches

d) three kilometers on the ground is equivalent to how many centimeters on the map?

12.5 cm

7. What is the contour interval on your map?

20ft

8. What are the approximate geographic coordinates in both degrees/minutes/seconds and decimal degrees of:

a) the Public Affairs Building;

lat: 34 deg 04' 25" lon: 118 deg 26' 15"

lat: 34.0736 deg lon: 118.4375 deg

b) the tip of Santa Monica pier;

lat: 34 deg 00' 28" lon: 118 deg 29' 55"

lat: 34.00778 lon: 118.4986

c) the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir;

lat: 34 deg 07' 20" lon: 118 deg 24' 33"

lat: 34.1222 lon: 118.4091

9. What is the approximate elevation in both feet and meters of:

a) Greystone Mansion (in Greystone Park); 

560 feet; 170.69 meters

b) Woodlawn Cemetery;

140 feet ; 42.67 meters

c) Crestwood Hills Park;

700 feet; 213.36 meters

10. What is the UTM zone of the map?

zone 11

11. What are the UTM coordinates for the lower left corner of your map? 

37629500 Northing; 361450 Easting

12. How many square meters are contained within each cell (square) of the UTM gridlines?

1,000,000 meters^2

13. Obtain elevation measurements, from west to east along the UTM northing 3771000, where the eastings of the UTM grid intersect the northing. Create an elevation profile using these measurements in Excel:

14. What is the magnetic declination of the map?

14 degrees

15. In which direction does water flow in the intermittent stream between the 405 freeway and Stone Canyon

Reservoir? 

South

16. Crop out UCLA from the map and include it as a graphic on your blog.