Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Cartographic Wildfire Resources at Ball State University Libraries






Maps in the News:  GIS Wildfire Tracking, Maps of Yosemite National Park Available in the GIS Research and Map Collection

The Rim Fire is blazing in the northern side of Yosemite National Park.  So far the fire has destroyed about 280 square miles of forest and is less than ten miles from the giant sequoias.  Researchers can access dozens of maps of the park in the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library.

The GRMC includes a map of the park and the surrounding wilderness published in 2007.  This map is created with relief shown by contours and shading.  Six bird’s-eye views and a map of “Yosemite creek past and present” are also included.  The verso of the map tells the geologic “story” of Yosemite Valley.

Another interesting map of the national park is Satellite Orthoimage of Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California.  This map of the area was created from satellite images.  Map of Yosemite Region is another map in the GRMC that includes a table of campground information.  Maps of Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa, Bass Lake, the Sierra National Forest, and many other lakes and recreation areas are also included.

The historic map above of Yosemite National Park (top, click to enlarge) was published in 1949 by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service and shows the locations of creeks, lakes, and mountains.  The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir—the water resource for the city of San Francisco—can be viewed on the left side of the map.
 
Current topographic maps of the park are also available in the GRMC, and many road maps of the state of California include inset maps of Yosemite.  An official guide map of Yosemite National Park dated from 1931 is also included in the Collection, and includes a map of the Yosemite Valley (above).

Maps from the GRMC circulate for two weeks or longer.

ESRI, the GIS software development company, has created an interactive map of wildfire locations in the United States called the PublicInformation Map.  Users can view real-time social network updates while viewing maps of wildfires and potential fire areas.

Please contact the GRMC for more information Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00 at 765-285-1097.

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