As seen from the two maps above we are able to see the Los Angeles fires that happened in the county in 2009. These maps try to show how these fires affected traffic, by showing the hard hit highways/ freeways that run across the area. From what we can see the fire was mainly hitting one of the busy California freeways like the 210. This fire mostly affected the people living by the inland of Los Angeles making the people who live close to the area reroute their commute to work. This made traffic in such freeways like the 5 and the 405 even more difficult as those two freeways saw a increase in people using it. This fire affected many Southern California motorists as the other freeways ended up serving the people who usually use the 210 freeway.

The Orange Juice Blog a blog based in Orange County writes and exemplifies that the fire “cost millions and millions of dollars” They also mentioned that there were homes that were sacrificed in the fire. As seen from above though it may seem like the fire was only hitting the San Gabriel mountains, it was clear that there were homes that were based in the area. From the blog it shows how the fire has already destroyed three homes that was in the line of the fire. From the looks of the map it makes sense how the fire moved. It moved up and down the mountains as seen on the map. The unpredictable winds of Los Angeles itself can be blamed for how the fire spread quickly.

Though this Los Angeles County fire was one of the more popular wildfires that happened in 2009, it was also apparent that there were other areas like, Santa Barbara County, Ventura County and other Southern California spots that was hit by a fire. This made it difficult in the long run for motorists as many freeways later on was also hard hit by such a fire. It is important to talk about the other fires as it will allow us to understand why traffic became such a problem during this time. When all or most of the most important freeways of California are being hit by fire, much of the California economy also stands still.

Seen from Xinhua a Chinese online blog, they were showing areas such as La Canada that was being hit by the fire. Such an ethnic enclave like the area of La Canada was hit hard by the fires. The pictures that were being shown clarified that fire was truly in the backyards of people's houses. Where there are house, there are roads, this allows us to understand that the fires forced many of it victims to flee from their fires and leaving their homes to perish. The fire affected not just commute, but also many families. Fire and smog causes illness, when the fire happened many people ended up sick meaning many people who worked were also unable to work. Firefighters as well had a hard time fighting this fire, all in all this was an economic ruin waiting to happen.

What is most interesting is how CBN a member of the CBS family news shows where the firefighters are trying to contain the fire. Many of the firefighters make their base camps in the side of the freeways forcing many of the motorists to be either stranded in the traffic of just not allowed to use the freeway. It was also said that two firefighters had died in this fire. By looking closely we are able to understand that much of the freeways in Southern California at this time was hard hit by this fire. This fire affected more than traffic, it affected people's lives and the nation's economy like no other fire before it.


Work Cited:

“Wildfire Threatends 12,000 Homes Near Los Angeles – US – CBN News – Christian News 24-7 – CBN.com.” CBN.com – Christian Broadcasting Network. Web. 20 May 2010. .

“Los Angeles Wildfire Continues Raging_English_Xinhua.” Web. 20 May 2010. .

"Crews Surround Half of Deadly Los Angeles-area Wildfire as Officials Seek Clues, Arsonist." Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and Incisive Views 24/7. Web. 20 May 2010. .

Burned, Acreage. "2009 California Wildfires." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 May 2010. .

“Los Angeles Wildfire Update.” OrangeJuice Blog. 2009

Week 7: DEMS

Posted above are the Aspect, Slope, Hillshade and 3D maps of the Southern coast of Catalina Island off the coast of California. It is mainly focused on the area by Avalon City where most the island's 5000 residents live. The southern strip of Catalina island is also a very well known tourist hotspot where many people who take a cruise stop over before going to Mexico. From what we can see above, this area of Catalina Island has many mountains, the elevation of the island is very unpredictable with many of the structures from homes to businesses standing by hills and mountains. By looking at the aspect map we are able to see clearly the different areas of elevation of the island, in which we understand that there are a plethora of different heights. We understand this by looking at the different colors of the map. By looking at the 3D, users will further see the different elevation in this case in a more realistic view. From what we know, the southern strip of Catalina Island's extents are as follows: Top: 33.4163888879, Left: -118.483611111, Right: -118.319722222 and Bottom: 33.3019444435. Lastly, the maps seen above uses the GCS North American 1983 geographic coordinate system.

Please click image to see the whole thing:

The different types of maps shown above can be described as significant in different ways. These six maps differ in each of their purposes ad uses for the map reader. Because we are able to see maps in different lights and different forms we are able to use them in many ways. These maps are very versatile in the sense that this allows beginners and trained map professionals to use and understand what the map is for. Above we see six different types of maps that can be distributed into three different types of maps known as conformal, equidistant and equal area. These three types of maps have significant traits that make them what they are, which makes them different from each other.

First off, the image above shows two conformal maps in the left hand side of the image. Uisng streographic and mercator style of conformal maps we see that the importance and usage of such maps try to maintain and accurately make sure that the angles of the maps are kept consistent. This allows the user of the map to see the latitudes and longitudes accurately. More than ever, the 30 degree by 30 degree graticules seen above accurately shows how far the angles of the 30 degree latitude are from Kabul and Washington DC. By showcasing those two cities in the "subset" this allows the user to see a conformal maps main purpose. It consistently shows how lines of latitudes and longitudes stay the same with each different types of conformal maps. The importance of these maps can be clearly seen by looking at a GPS, by making sure that the angles of latitudes and longitudes stay accurate it allows a person to accurately find such areas they are looking for. Distance between Kabul and Washington DC are very different by five million meters, this tells us as map readers that conformal maps main concentrates their use for the assumption of consistent place location, meaning if I were to look at the intersection of 30 degree by 30 degree we will find the same point.

Equidistant on the other hand shown above by the right hand corner. The two maps used were the Sinusoidal and Platee Caree. Just looking at the title equidistant maps tries to consistently maintain the distance of the maps. The distance between the two locations on the subset should show a consistent number. Though the numbers above seem to imply that they are not consistent, it may have depended on how the map was made. But by looking at the two different types of map we see that they do try to maintain the definition of the estimate length between the two different locations. Similar to the conformal maps we see the equidistant maps of Sinusoidal and Platee Caree to show that the 30 degree by 30 degree graticule to show that Kabul and Washington DC as maintained and consistent to the naked eye. Equidistant in my view becomes important to show exact boundaries of lands, it allows the map reader to see where such lands end accurately.

Last, equal area maps such as Goode Homosoline and Bonne show that it consistently maintains the area of maps. What do I mean by this? It shows the area in accordance to each other, but significantly ignores the "angles" that Conformal tries to maintain. This allows the user to see the size of an area in accordance to other areas. The Goode Homosline is a great example of this, it shows the areas of the world in accordance to their size and are, but significantly ignores the accuracy of the graticule lines. In comparison to the conformal maps the these two equidistant maps inaccurately shows the location of Kabul and Washington DC. What it does show is the size of the countries, oceans and lakes etc in accordance to each other.

LAB 4: Intro to ARC GIS


The ARC GIS experience is a unique one. Different from Photoshop and simple Paint ARC GIS allows the user to make maps as detailed as they want it to be. This also allows the user to give the user the ability to create maps to their own discretion. What is most important in my experience is that I was able to get my feet in and understand what are the basic controls users need to use to make the maps. But a few experiences that I have found are as follows:

Say you have a question. You decide to answer it with GIS. You open Arc, load in files, do some analysis, and hit print. BUT, where did those files come from? What are they? You are constrained by the nature of the data. It might be wrong, and since GIS is a spatial MODEL (aka just a REPRESENTATION of reality), you may be missing crucial pieces of information. Also, GIS restricts you to think in a purely spatial manner. Not everything in the world is spatial. Like religion, psychology, institutions- all of which can dramatically impact space. Therefore, when doing a GIS, it is crucial to understand what you are working with and what is still there. Maps are not God or the law, they are merely a representation some person made of something somewhere.

Furthermore, because a map is constrained in this way every map is only important to the user itself, or to the intended audience. Yes, it is possible to make map that is intended for everyone, but because GIS restrict purely in spatial manner this fully ignores other factors that are needed on the map.

Last, as stated before, the map as I see it is just a representation of reality it is the what is true making it difficult as it does not allow for the truth to actually be represented. It is need to be seen this way as it allows for the users to know that the map is not reality it is just a small representation the truth.