EVS-Islands

Cook Islands - Landsat ETM+ Coverage

I have been very busy digitizing islands. In fact, I have just completed digitizing over 3,000 large and small islands making up the western portion of the Solomon Islands. I'm currently digitizing island shorelines in Papua New Guinea. All of this work is being done at EVS precision - using Landsat ETM+ base imagery and digitizing shorelines at a scale between 1:25,000 up to 1:50,000. Some of you have reminded me that because Landsat ETM+ is typically 14.5-meter resolution that digitizing at the scale I work at is overkill. After spending close to 3-years working with 14.5-meter resolution imagery, the maps I am able to produce work quite well. I wouldn't want to sail into a lagoon using only ETM+ imagery, but I could do excellent advance planning and rough navigation using maps derived from this imagery. I know my maps are often far superior in shoreline validity when compared to some of the very old nautical charts still in use today.

Anyway, this is supposed to be about green dots on a deep black sea. In between work on the Solomons and Papua New Guinea, I completed EVS precision mapping of the Cook Islands. The first image in this post struck me. It took seven Landsat ETM+ mosaics to cover the Cook Islands. If you study the above image at full size, almost all of these very small islands are impossible to see. Yet, they enable countries, like New Zealand, to claims (EEZ) enormous chunks of liquid real estate. These very small islands play a significant role in the distribution of world resources. Interesting.

Cook Islands - Marplot Map with 25-km Ocean Masks

The Marplot map of the Cook Islands shows their distribution more clearly. They are scattered about within a peculiarly shaped border, that is if one finds rectangles peculiar. Actually, their EEZs would spill outside of their international border. I'm not sure if the border serves to limit their 200-NM EEZs. If that is the case, too bad for New Zealand and the Cook islanders.

Penrhyn Atoll CW - Landsat S-04-05_2000 Image (1:125,000)

Just to confirm that there are islands located in this broad expanse of black ocean, here is one of them, Penrhyn Atoll. It has a classic atoll shape with a lagoon full of near surface coral heads. I have not researched Penrhyn as I was in a digitizing mode when I worked on it, not in an investigative one.

Penrhyn Atoll CW - EVS Precison Island Polygon Map (1:125,000)

This is my EVS precision map of Penrhyn Atoll. It is a solid shoreline depiction. My customary mapping effort of an atoll would include a number of additional layers of information - reefs, beaches, vegetation. As my client requires only shorelines, I digitizied and mapped the island's above-water shoreline and portion of it's awash reef. Again, it is a solid shoreline mapping effort and one that I will revisit to complete the other layers of information I would typically map.

I am still here, just not able to post as often as I would like. When I finish my paying mapping project (Whoopee!), I will share many, many, many more islands. Until then...

Enjoy!

Labels: Cook Islands, digitize, EVS Precision, Landsat ETM+, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands

Posted by Mr Minton at 4/30/2008 08:22:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

It has been a few days since my last post, but it has been a very busy few days. I am working on a paying island mapping project. The client ( who shall remain anonymous) wants the eastern Pacific islands mapped at EVS precision (using Landsat ETM+ as base imagery). For the past four days I've been mapping the Solomon Islands. All I have to do is create a shoreline polygon for each island. If you've ever studied the Landsat imagery for this part of the world there a lots of clouds. Clouds are a royal pain to the shoreline digitizer. However, I am an enterprising soul and am using Landsat 1990 imagery to try and skirt the cloud issue. It works! Now for the challenge associated with this project. I have 1,000s of islands to digitize, label, add elevation contours and bathymetry, create urban polygons and label, and all of this within two to four weeks. This is what I wished for and now I have it. I will work many many many hours on this project and get paid a few thousand for my efforts (it's never enough). But am I complaining. No, not at all. This is what I want to do - make EVS precision maps of islands. At the end of this project I will have completed EVS precision mapping for the eastern Pacific. That is quite an accomplishment. So my "For Hire" shingle is out. Any more takers? Enjoy!

Labels: EVS Precision, Landsat ETM+, Landsat WRS, Pacific Ocean

Posted by Mr Minton at 4/22/2008 08:48:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Gough Island - Landsat S-29-40_2000 (1:65,000)

Gough Island - EVS Precision Map with 50 Meter Contours (1:65,000)

Gough Island, a dependency of Saint Helena Island, is located in the distant south Atlantic. Today, South Africa maintains a weather station on the southeastern tip of the island. This is a blustery portion of the Atlantic and the island is subject to weather extremes. For more detailed information follow this link.

I actually digitized the island shoreline last summer. I wanted to fancy the map up, but had other chores to do. Now that I fancy my maps with Marplot, I finished this map tonite, April 15th - Tax Day. Taxes are a drag, but my map is nice.

Enjoy!

Labels: Atlantic, EVS Precision, Global Mapper, Landsat ETM+, Marplot

Posted by Mr Minton at 4/16/2008 12:34:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Lukuga River - Entire River Overview Landsat S-35-05_2000 (1:1,000,000)

I am done! To manually digitize a river is a challenge. Lots and lots of twists and turns make up the river's shoreline, as well as water-inundated areas. One frequently must decide where the river shore ends and the river begins. After one completes the river shore, then comes the islands. The Lukuga River has almost 1,000 island polygons. The majority of this polygons are very small, but the conscientious map maker digitizes every visible feature that might possible belong to a certain layer. Let's take a look at what I was able to accomplish.

Lukuga River - Entire River Overview EVS Precision Map with 100-Meter Contours (1:1,000,000)

At this scale the effort might not look very impressive. However, having digitized this east-west flowing African river and it's many islands, it is an impressive effort. I've added SRTM generated 100-meter contours. Lake Tanganyika makes up the eastern edge and the Lualaba River is the western edge. Now for a few close-ups.

Lualaba and Lukuga Confluence - Landsat S-35-05_2000 (1:50,000)

Lualaba and Lukuga Confluence - 3D View Landsat S-35-05_2000 (1:50,000)

Lualaba and Lukuga Confluence - EVS Precision Map (1:50,000)

This series of images show the confluence of these two rivers. The Lukuga has meandered over relatively flat westward sloping terrain for about 200 kilometers before joining the Lualaba. The large island at the western end of the Lukuga is a water inundated feature that was a challenge to digitize. Water and land quite often blend making digitizing difficult.

Lake Tanganyika and Lukuga Confluence - 3D View Landsat S-35-05_2000 (1:250,000)

Lake Tanganyika and Lukuga Confluence - EVS Precision Map with100-Meter Contours (1:250,000)

These images show the Lukuga flowing from Lake Tanganyika through the town of Kemba. The Landsat image shows agricultural lands throughout this area. The river then courses through a cleft between the hills to the west.

I'm going to go ahead and post this. I have one more series of images to include, but I'll add them when I return after a date with my wife. I hope you all find this effort interesting. I, myself, find it extremely satisfying. This river is mapped at EVS precision, manual digitizing from Landsat ETM+ 14.5-meter resolution base imagery.

Enjoy!

Labels: EVS Precision, Global Mapper, Landsat ETM+, Lualaba River, Lukuga River, riverine islands

Posted by Mr Minton at 4/13/2008 12:12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Bastoy Island - Landsat ETM+ Image N-32-55_2000 (1-20,000)

Bastoy Island - EVS Precision Map (1-20,000)

When I was a young man I learned a language that used to be widely practiced. Now it is an oddity employed by radio amateurs. Morse code was once the primary method of communication within many sectors of the world of the 1960's and 70's. I encountered it in the military. I still enjoy hearing the "dits" and "dahs".

This island is home for Norway's privledged prisoners. Apparently, Bastoy Island is a minimum security prison that is a choice location for all convicted Norwegian criminals. Not only prisoners visit this island, but radio amateurs as well.

Bastoy Island will be the location that LA4HNA and friends will transmit from between June 20-22, 2008. He will not transmit in CW (morse code), but will use RTTY and SSB. Oh, well, that's ok. I like RSGBIOTA (Radio Society of Great Britain Islands On The Air). They encourage amateur radio transmissions from islands around the world - a real natural for me.

Someone that looked at LA1NIS's website visited EVS Islands, perhaps looking for a map of Bastoy Island. If they wanted one, now they have it. The map took about 2-hours to complete. The best resolution imagery is Landsat ETM+. However, Statens Kartverks has excellent, highly detailed mapping for all of Norway. I used their mapping to digitize the road network on the island.

. -. .--- --- -.--!

Labels: EVS Precision, LA1NIS, Landsat ETM+, Norway, Staten Krartverks

Posted by Mr Minton at 4/05/2008 08:18:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Bugaia Island - Landsat ETM+ N-36-00_2000 (1:50,000)

Bugaia Island - EVS Precision Map (1:50,000)

Bugaia Island is one of at least 3,000 islands located in Lake Victoria. Not much information on this relatively small island. For those of you that would like to learn about the ecosystems that make up Lake Victoria follow this link. Otherwise, what you see is what you get.

The mapping took about 1-hour to digitize and another 3-hours to pretty it up. This map is significant in that all of the pretty work (legend, lat/lon, labels) were done in Marplot. All in all, this is a nice looking map of a small lake island.

Enjoy!

Labels: EVS Precision, Lake Victoria, Marplot, Ugandan Islands

Posted by Mr Minton at 3/30/2008 09:28:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Kingman Reef - Landsat Image N-03-15_2000 (1-75,000)

Things can heat up at EVS Islands pretty fast, especially when National Geographic requests information about one of my mapping projects. Respected group that they are, they constantly research many areas prior to selecting a few primary areas for more thorough studies. One such area they are studying in depth is Kingman Reef. Since I have done mapping of the reef, one of their mapping team members contacted me and asked about my map of the reef. Needless to say, I was quite excited, yet apprehensive. I knew that the Landsat ETM+ imagery for this reef was not the most revealing. I remembered that in order to construct my EVS precision map I had to "trick" the image.

Kingman Reef - "Tricked" Landsat Image Over EVS Precision Marplot Map (1-75,000)

Using a Blend mode in Global Mapper that made the black colored sea transparent, the reef appeared as a murky yellow smudge. Using this yellow smudge to define the limits of the reef, I mapped it. Comparing my map to a nautical chart of the area, it turns out my EVS precision map of Kingman Reef is a solid effort. After numerous emails back and forth, I sent NGS my Kingman Reef vector files and various images to help them in their study of this reef.

Kingman Reef 10007409B01

Kingman Reef 10007409B01

Kingman Reef - Combined Image (10007318D01 and 10007409B01)

Let's talk about a "perfect world" where we all have access to the best imagery. I should have used DigitalGlobe's exquisite imagery of Kingman Reef to construct my map. A quick scan of DigitalGlobe's available imagery covering Kingman Reef reveals two nearly cloud-free views of the reef. An equally quick "cut and paste" gives me a revealing view of the reef. I could have made the ultimate map for this reef using these two images.

Let's do a "what if". What if my original Kingman Reef project had been constructed from these two DigitalGlobe images? What if I could have told the NGS rep that they were getting the best map availabe for this particular reef, because it was constructed from the best available imagery? What if I could have emailed them a copy of DigitalGlobe's imagery and my vector files for Kingman Reef? What if they would use and credit DigitalGlobe's imagery and my map of Kingman Reef in a future article? I think that is called "win-win".

And let's end this post with a proposition - DigitalGlobe, what would it take for you to make EVS Islands your island imagery charity case? Do you need me to be a non-profit? That is what I intend to do with EVS Islands. If you give me access to your island image archives, I promise I will make the best island maps possible. Using your imagery, I will teach young people the fine art of map making. I promise not to get in the way of your ongoing operations. I will quietly access island images from your archive, construct island mosaics and continue to make the best island maps possible.

Come on, DigitalGlobe, let's make a deal!

Labels: DigitalGlobe, EVS Precision, Kingman Reef, Landsat ETM+

Posted by Mr Minton at 2/25/2008 02:15:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Bikini Atoll - LIIM N-58-10 (1:200,000)

I decided to digitize this atoll because the Landsat Island Image Mosaic is cloud-free and it has a certain amount of notiriety connected with nuclear weapons testing and population displacement. As a youngster, I watched rebroadcasts of one of the blasts on TV. It was probably the Bravo blast, the one that left the big hole in the northwest portion of the reef.

The islanders are still displaced. It seems they tried to reestablish themselves back in the 70's. After awhile they were beginning to glow (figuratively speaking). They were taken off of their home and scattered onto other islands. Now, tourists are allowed to visit, along with divers and fishermen. The island and it's waters have been deemed safe for short stays. Just don't drink the groundwater, eat the coconuts, land crabs or fish. One advantage if you stay for a long time - you won't need a lantern at night, your radioactive glow will provide sufficient illumination. Just a joke. I know that folks earning their livelihood from tourists, divers and fishermen will resent my "glow" remarks. I apologize to them. But, the U.S. military screwed up when they blasted holes in this atoll. 60-years later, I still say, "Shame on you."

Bikini Atoll - EVS Precision Map (1:200,000)

Enough about my personal gripes. The EVS precision map of Bikini Atoll was a fairly fast project to complete. The digitizing took 8-hours over a period of 2 days. The map assembly and posting has taken another 2-hours. 10-hours from start to finish for an island of this size is good. The reef, thank goodness, was relatively simple to digitize. Some reefs are quite complex and require many layers of information. This reef consists primarily of three layers - EVS Reef Shallow, EVS Reef Middle and EVS Reef Deep. They are distinguished by their respective shades of blue. The majority of the lagoon is classified as EVS Reef Deep. I used only a single vegetation layer, EVS Vegetation Mixed (Hi-Lo). I use this classification on most Landsat imaged islands with a mixture of palms and other trees along with shrubs and low-lying plants. When I am able to study a DigitalGlobe hi-res image along with the Landsat, I am able to make better vegetation layer classifications.

I still have work remaining on this project - EVS Reef Awash where visible waves appear along the outer reef and confirmation of individual motu names When I am satisfied with the outcome, I will repost the map. Until then...

Enjoy!

Labels: DigitalGlobe, EVS Precision, Global Mapper, Landsat ETM+, LIIM

Posted by Mr Minton at 2/05/2008 04:26:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Landsat ETM+ and DigitalGlobe from Google Earth (1:18,000)

I have heard from many readers that maps derived from 14.5-meter resolution are useable between 1:125,000 to 1:62,500. To push them down to scales below 1:62,500 would render the map virtually useless.

Palmerston Atoll - Bird Islands (1:15,000)

That was before I discovered a LINZ produced map of Palmerston Atoll at a scale of 1:25,000. My EVS precision shoreline was a very close approximation of the LINZ product. It was so similar that it was as if LINZ might have used the 14.5-meter resolution imagery to produce their island map. I asked them and never got a satisfactory answer. My guess is that they did make use of the 14.5-meter imagery to produce their 1:25,000 scale map. Just a guess, but a good one.

EVS Precision and EEVS Precision Shorelines with Reefs (1:18,000)

Using the first image in Global Mapper, I digitized both shorelines at 14.5-meter resolution and 1-meter resolution. The left map (less vegetation layers) was created from 14.5-meter imagery. The map on the right was created from 1-meter imagery. I am certain DigitalGlobe's 1-meter imagery is the best hi-res imagery currently available, thanks to Google Earth. I confidently acknowledge that shorelines, reefs, vegetations layers and other layers of information derived from 14.5-meter resolution imagery is good mapping information. As with any imagery, one needs to make mapping compromises. Perfection at tracing a dynamically shifting shoreline is impossible. Tha shoreline's ultimate delineation can be approximated, at best. My EVS precision work allows me to create and use mapping products at scales far below 1:62,500 - like 1:25,000.

Enjoy!

Labels: DigitalGlobe, EEVS Precision, EVS Precision, LIIM, LINZ, Palmerston Atoll

Posted by Mr Minton at 1/30/2008 07:30:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Kyra Panagia - EVS Compared to NGA PGS

Comment posted by Anonymous:

Shorelines are usually created through stereoplotting or derived from surface models - rarely from monoplotting like you do. The problem with monoplotting is that your shorelines will be different depending on the tide, so your shorelines might very well be even more off in many places - especially at relatively flat areas and/or shallow water.

Anonymous, your observation concerning the use of stereoplotting and surface models providing an accurate approximation of a dynamic shoreline are well taken. If one had the imagery depicting the shoreline at various stages of tidal fluctuations during a set period of time, the methods you refer to would always provide the superior shoreline representation. However, after monoplotting 1,000s of kilometers of shorelines and comparing my EVS precision shorelines to NGA PGS precision shorelines - EVS shorelines track the Landsat ETM+ imaged shorelines more consistently then NGA PGS precision shorelines. My guess is that their method introduced unanticipated stutters, inconsistent shoreline identification and non-inclusion of water inundated areas.

EVS precison is not perfect, just better at tracking the visible shoreline more consistently then NGA PGS.

Labels: EVS Precision, NGA PGS, shoreline

Posted by Mr Minton at 1/30/2008 07:02:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Kyra Panagia - EVS Compared to NGA PGS

Enhanced Vector Shorelines are derived from Landsat ETM+ mosaics. When I carefully digitize an island shoreline using Landsat imagery as my base image, I create EVS precision vectors. This name describes an improved shoreline over World Vector Shorelines.

The NGA Prototype Global Shoreline claims to be a global vector shoreline derived from Landsat ETM+ mosaics, the same imagery I use. When I first learned of it, I thought to myself, "My work is done! MDA has produced the ultimate global vector shoreline. Well, they really haven't. It seems that their shorelines do not track Landsat's imaged shorelines. They are close, somettimes very close. But far too often, they are off, sometimes by 100's of feet.

It is my contention, if Landsat provides a clearly imaged shoreline, the vectors that describe that shoreline should be as close to the shoreline as possible. NGA PGS does a pretty good job, but when I compare their product to my EVS precision shorelines - mine are better at tracking the Landsat imaged shoreline.

Enjoy!

Labels: EVS Precision, NGA PGS, WVS

Posted by Mr Minton at 1/28/2008 10:01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Nisos Skiathos - LIIM from N-34-35_2000 (1:70,000)

Nisos Skiathos is the westernmost island of the Sporades. It is reported to be heavily forested with pine trees. However the ugly red splotch in the center of the LIIM is a burn signature. When a forest fire occurs on a small island, it puts all of the inhabitants at risk. This fire was restricted to the mountainous interior. It would have occured over 7+ years ago and I am confident organic ground cover has returned to the area. According to a Nisos Skiathos web site, the island is heavily populated with tourists during the summer months. They visit the old fortress at Kastro (NE), long stretches of sandy beaches and enjoy a festive nightlife in Skiathos town.

My perfect visit to this island would be off-season. I would spend my time exploring and visiting with the local folks. In the evening I would walk in the town looking at the shops and selecting a taverna to dine in. Then I would retire to my room overlooking the sea. I would relax on my balcony with a good book, a glass of 20-year old port wine, a Cuban cigar and soft music in the background. I would fall asleep at 1:00 AM, wake up at 5:30 AM and start all over again. Wow! Now that is living on the edge.

Nisos Skiathos - EVS Precision Marplot Map (1:70,000)

The map was created in approximately 4-hours. It was a fairly straight forward island mapping project. Nothing out of the ordinary. I am working on color schemes for my various map layers. The colors are still being explored. I have been using Marplot's text feature. One has the option of using five different fonts. You control the size of the text by selecting and dragging it until you are satisfied with the size. I have used Time New Roman font for this island mapping project.

Enjoy!

Labels: EVS Precision, Global Mapper, Greece, Landsat ETM+, LIIM, Marplot

Posted by Mr Minton at 1/16/2008 05:54:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Nisos Skopelos - LIIM From N-34-35_2000 (1:100,000)

Nisos Skopelos is a fertile and densely-wooded island. Adjacent to the town of Skopelos is a harbor that handles the ferry boat traffic - tourists and goods from the mainland. There are a few smaller harbors that provide safe haven for the sailing crowd, especially the harbor at Ormos Glossa.

Nisos Skopelos - EVS Precision Map with Roads (1:100,000)

This island project took about 6-hours to complete. The shoreline was completed quickly. The feature that took the greatest amount of time was the island's intricate road network. I used a map found on Skopelos Web Site. I georeferenced the map and placed it on top of my base image. I then carefully digitized the road network, paying special attention to the size classification of the roads. I imported the completed files into Marplot where I finished this map. The names and locations of various island features were taken from Sailing Directions Pub 132, Section 16-10.

I have secured approval to use the road network on this map from the copyright owner, Yiannis Chatzitrakosas. Landsat ETM+ does a poor job of showing roads and trails, where as Yiannis' map shows all class of roads on the island..

Enjoy!

Labels: EVS Precision, Global Mapper, Greece, Landsat ETM+, Marplot, Sailing Directions, Sporades

Posted by Mr Minton at 1/15/2008 08:20:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Nisida Ioura - LIIM From N-34-35_2000 (1:65,000)

So you've always wanted to hand-digitize an island shoreline. Your GIS friends tell you "No way! It takes way too long. And it's not as accurate as some of these slick black-box vectorizing software packages." You ignore them. Good for you!

First get you a good software package to digitize from. You all know where I stand - Global Mapper. You can always download and try their software for free. Just select my Global Mapper sidebar link and follow the instructions. Once you've got the mapping software loaded, it is time to get your base imagery. You can either download it from the NASA site or get in touch with me and I'll hook you up with imagery for your island.

Nisida Ioura - EVS Precision and GSHHS WVS (1:65,000)

Load the imagery into GM, zoom into a section of the shoreline where you will begin digitizing at a scale of 1:12,500, switch on Anti-Alias option in the Control Panel for your base image, select the digitizing tool, select the "Draw a Line" option and start digitizing. I like digitizing to music. This morning it was "The Planets" by Gustav Holst. I traced the above island's shoreline, listened to music and sipped a cup of coffee. I started at 5:50AM and finished Nisida Ioura's shoreline at 6:05AM - 15-minutes to digitize a perimeter of 30-kilometers - 2-kilometers per minute.

I always experience a satisfying sense of accomplishment when I complete an island's shoreline at EVS precision. I know that my island shorelines are as accurate as one can get using the tools I use. I have done enough comparisons to know that my shorelines can be used to create useful maps suitable for a wide range of activities.

If you want to make your own maps, just do it. Stop making excuses. Stop letting others tell you what you can or can't do. Go ahead and make your map. If your first one looks crappy, I promise your next one will look less crappy. And after a few years of making your own maps - you'll be able to say "Now, that's a nice map!"

Enjoy!

Labels: digitizing, EVS Precision, GSHHS, Landsat ETM+, WVS

Posted by Mr Minton at 1/14/2008 09:55:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Kyra Panagia - LIIM From Landsat N-35-35_2000

A few nights ago I decided to make a map from one of my Greek and Turkish Island LIIMs. I selected one at random. I initially had it identified as Nisos Pelagos. It turns out that the Greeks named the island after a monastery located on this island.

Kyra Panagia - EVS Percision Marplot Map (1:50,000)

The map I produced is above. EVS precision is the best resolution freely available. So I used the LIIM to create my map. Nothing much out of the ordinary to report. The map was created in less than four hours. What I found out about the island in the research phase, now that is interesting.

Kyra Panagia Monastery (Overview)

This humble monastery is monk-less. The last monk died in 1991. Tourist haul into Monastery Bay, climb Monks Steps and tour the only building on the island - this monastery. It turns out the island is uninhabited. It is a protected area - some sort of National Park status. So, if you are hunting for the ultimate get-away, this is your destination.

Enjoy!

Labels: EVS Precision, Greek, LIIM, Marplot

Posted by Mr Minton at 1/09/2008 11:39:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Isla Pinta - Landsat N-15-00_2000 (1:90,000)

Isla Pinta - EVS Precision Marplot (1:90,000)

This project took about 4-hours to digitize. The shoreline is a composite of two images. The majority of the shoreline was taken from Landsat ETM+ imagery. When it is cloud free, this imagery is easy to work with. However, when you have cloud obscured shorelines, they are often impossible to discern. The second image used is DigitalGlobe imagery taken from Google Earth. This allowed me to digitize the eastern shore.

I have included four additional layers of information, besides the shoreline - a Vegetation Sparse layer, Land Bare, Land Lava and Land Rocky Shore. All of these layers were taken from the Landsat ETM+ image.

Isla Pinta - DigitalGlobe Image from Google Earth - Eastern Shore (Red Polyline)

I love DigitalGlobe imagery! It is the best to work with, but there are so many real and possible restrictions that apply to derivitive works, maps in particular, that it is more trouble than it is worth. The red polyline is what I digitized from the DG image. I imported it into Global Mapper and stitched it into my EVS precision shoreline.

Isla Pinta - EVS Precision Marplot with 50-meter Contours (1:90,000)

Isla Pinta - EVS Precision Marplot with 50-meter Contours 3D View (1:90,000)

I took my completed map image and georectified it on top of my Global Mapper data. I also added the SRTM data to create contours and explore 3D views of the island. The first map above has 50-meter contours. The second image is a 3D view of the island looking toward the NE.

Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station (Credit: Credit: Alison Llerena/CDRS)

And finally, here is Lonesome George. He is the last Pinta Island tortise. He was found in 1972 and removed to Santa Cruz Island. He has a couple of Wolf Island female tortises as his potential mates. So far Lonesome George continues to play hard to get. He is estimated to be between 80 to 90 years old. If he doesn't hook up with a female tortise soon his Pinta Island breed ends. I wish him well and his future mate many tortise children.

Enjoy!

Labels: DigitalGlobe, Ecuador, EVS Precision, Galapagos Islands, Google Earth, Landsat ETM+

Posted by Mr Minton at 1/04/2008 07:42:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post