Maps and Cartography

Maps and cartography are essential tools in geography that enable us to visualize and understand the Earth’s surface and its features.

Cartography is the art and science of creating maps, which involves the use of sophisticated technology and techniques to accurately represent the Earth’s physical and cultural features.

Maps provide a visual representation of the world, allowing us to identify patterns, explore spatial relationships, and navigate through unfamiliar terrain.

Top image is a high resolution thermal image showing sources of heat. The bottom satellite image is from Landsat and show a lower resolution heat signature.

Mapping Building Heat Using Remote Sensing

Mark Altaweel

Startup Satellite Vu launched the first of a satellite constellation to measure building heat signatures in high resolution.

An image on the left of a street view and a black and white image on the right with white representing areas of vegetation from the street image.

Green View Index for QGIS

Alexandros Voukenas

Green View Index is a QGIS plugin that uses street-level imagery to measure the amount of vegetation visible to the human eye.

A view of chaparral in the hills in the background against a sunny sky with light green grass in the foreground.

Using Open GIS Data to Map Public Urban Green Spaces

Mark Altaweel

Satellite imagery like Sentinel-2 can help map green spaces. Using OpenStreetMap (OSM) can help to distinguish public and private green spaces.

A faded aerial map with red, green, and blue areas indicating 3 minute drive times for a city.

GIS for Local Government: Economic Development and Site Selection

Maptitude

This GIS tutorials shows how to use Maptitude in the municipal government sector for economic development and site selection.

A view from a plane at a snow covered mountain with conifer trees in the Sierras.

Mapping Snowpack and Forecasting River Rise in California

Mark Altaweel

Measuring snow and forecasting snowmelt effects on river rise is important for planning for California's water needs and to mitigate flooding.