geography project

Project 1: Plotting Coordinates and Projections

[Your Name]

Part A: Reference Map Projection

[Your first map image(s) should include a descriptive caption with appropriate source citation.]

[Replace the example map shown above with one you create using the Interactive Album of Map Projections. Like the sample map, yours should highlight the location of your home town. Generate at least on map projection that is different than the one above and that is suited to a reference map focused on the part of the glob you chose to depict (your map does not need to cover the entire world). Feel free to include distortion ellipses if you wish. After you've replaced the sample map, replace this text with your own description of the map projection you created. State which geometric properties of the globe (i.e., sizes, shapes, distances, and directions) that your projection preserves, and which it distorts. (One way to earn “above and beyond” points is to explain the distortion pattern represented in the ellipses.) If you choose to show only a portion of the globe that frames your particular country or region of interest, specify the bounding coordinates used.]

Geographic Coordinates The place name shown on the map above represents the location of my hometown. The geographic coordinates of my home town are:

Latitude: _____° _____' _____" N, Longitude: _____° _____' _____" W

[Describe the geographic coordinate system in your own words. Why are latitude and longitude coordinates expressed in degrees rather than distance units? Are latitude and longitude coordinates projected? If so, how? How does the concept of a "horizontal datum" relate to the geographic coordinate system?]

UTM Coordinates The UTM coordinates (NAD83 or NAD27) of my hometown are:

Easting: _____________ meters, Northing: _____________ meters, Zone: __________

[Describe the UTM coordinate system in your own words. Why are eastings and northings expressed in meters rather than degrees? Are UTM coordinates projected? How? Do the UTM coordinates cover the entire globe? Are there any disadvantages to using the UTM coordinate system?]

State Plane Coordinates The State Plane coordinates of my hometown are:

Easting: _____________ meters, Northing: _____________ meters, Zone: __________

[Describe the State Plane Coordinate system (or your national or local coordinate system) in your own words. Why are eastings and northings expressed in meters rather than degrees? Are SPC coordinates projected? How? How do State Plane Coordinate systems’ projections differ among the 50 US States? Why?]

Comparison [Finally, compare and contrast the three coordinate systems in your own words—consider appropriate usage, accuracy, and ease of calculation. Why are some coordinates projected and others not? What geometric property is preserved in projected coordinate systems, and why? Explain the difference between NAD83 and NAD27. Why are different horizontal datums in use?]

Part B: Thematic Map Projection

[Next, you will select and generate a map projection that would be a good choice as a base for a thematic map (of poverty rate/10,000 people) in any country in the world other than the U.S. First, select and name a country to pick a map projection for].

The map in this part of the report is generated for use as a base to represent [list the country]

[Next use the Interactive Album of Map Projections tool to create a base map centered on the country you selected and using a map projection that would be appropriate as a base to generate a poverty map. Focus the map you generate on the country you are focused on. It is OK to include some surrounding context, but do not use a map of the entire world. As above, copy and save at least one screen capture that shows the map you generated.]

[Insert the screen capture(s) into your report and add an appropriate caption(s).]

[Create a short report on the projection (e.g., what is its central meridian, what are its lat-long bounds, were any specific parameters applied (other than the central meridian). Then, explain in your own words why the projection generated and illustrated would be particularly good as the base of a poverty map for your country of choice. Which properties does the projection have and why are they important for this thematic map? Which properties does the projection not have and why is it OK that they are not present for this thematic map?]

Sources [Edit as appropriate]

Getty Research Institute (2000). Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/index.html [Use this to find geographic coordinates for international locations.]

National Geodetic Survey (no date) NADCON - North American Datum Conversion Utility. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/TOOLS/Nadcon/Nadcon.html

National Geodetic Survey (2004). SPC Utilities. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/TOOLS/spc.html

National Geodetic Survey (2004). UTM Utilities. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/TOOLS/utm.html

Penn State Online GIS Education (2005). Interactive Album of Map Projections. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from http://projections.mgis.psu.edu

United States Geological Survey (2006). Geographic Names Information System. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from http://geonames.usgs.gov [Use this to find geographic coordinates for U.S. locations.]

United States Geological Survey (2006). Map Projections Poster. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/MapProjections/projections.html [More information about projections here.]

This document is published in fulfillment of an assignment by a student enrolled in an educational offering of The Pennsylvania State University. The student, named above, retains all rights to the document and responsibility for its accuracy and originality.