Notes

Slide Show

Outline

1	The Desert Dudes Digital GIS Map Project By the Mercury Mine Desert Dudes
2	The Project To have the Desert Dudes create a digital map – using accurate mapping techniques and computer GIS tools
3	Why make a Digital Map? Students can take home and work on their computer. Map can be posted on school’s web site. Great teaching tool for mapping and new computer technology.
4	Why make it accurate? So students can then use mapping software to make measurements of various aspects of map. So the map will look right. Things will appear were you expect and look right in proportion to other things.
5	What does accurate mean? We don’t guess how to draw things in the computer map. We measure things in the Desert Area first, write down our measurements and use those measurements to draw in the computer map.
6	How were we going to measure things in the Desert Area? Usually you measure from a known place. We decided to measure from the fences of the Desert Area. (How far were things from the fences.)
7	Why the fences? We obtained an aerial photo of the Desert Area showing the boundaries. We could use the fences because they would correspond to the boundary on the photo.
8	Why the fences? We could just trace the around the border of the Desert Area to get a pretty accurate picture of the Desert Area border in the computer. The fences would then match that border.
9	How do you measure from the fence? We thought about using long nylon tape measures. Too many trees and bushes Took too long and was too difficult for the Dudes. We needed another way to measure using the fence as a starting base.
10	How do real map makers cope with these problems while making maps? Use grids Use benchmarks
11	Examples of Grids used in map-making The globe – longitude and latitude
12	Examples of Grids used in map-making Archeological Digs
13	Examples of Grids used in map-making Archeological Digs
14	Examples of Grids used in map-making Archeological Digs
15	Examples of Benchmarks used in map-making United States Geological Survey (USGS) Geodetic Benchmarks:
16	The Desert Area Grid & Benchmarks Created with engraved nickel washers nailed into the ground every 30 feet
17	How will a grid and benchmarks make measuring easier? Don’t have to fight through as many trees and bushes. Many more points that are much closer to measure from. More accurate – we know exactly what points we are measuring from.
18	We started by mapping the Desert Area Paths First we broke the Desert Area up into four sections.
19	We started by mapping the Desert Area Paths Then the Dudes broke up into a team for each area and used the grid to make measurements.
20	Desert Dudes in Mapping Action:
21	Desert Dudes in Mapping Action:
22	Desert Dudes in Mapping Action:
23	Desert Dudes in Mapping Action:
24	Desert Dudes in Mapping Action:
25	The first official map of the paths made by the Desert Dudes:
26	The first official map of the paths made by the Desert Dudes:
27	The first official map of the paths made by the Desert Dudes:
28	With the various measurements plotted we then just “connected the dots” to make our path:
29	We couldn’t finish the path this year but this years we got it started!
30	Stay tuned for more Desert Dude mapping – things like:
31	A special Desert Dudes ‘Thanks’ goes out to: