I've linked to NASA's Earth Observatory a number of times. Today, the Boston Globe's "The Big Picture" has a collection of some of the best EO images, including these: HT: The Map Room Grace and Peace
Category: Geography
Global Accessibility
Here's a map from the European Commission and the World Bank showing travel time to major cities (this is, cities with at least 50,000) people. The bright areas can be reached from cities in just a few hours of transit; the dark areas take days to reach. The lines in the oceans designate shipping lane …
Techie terrorists
TimesOnline article: Google Earth accused of aiding terrorists. Apparently the Mumbai terrorists used Google Earth as part of planning their attack. An Indian Court has been called to ban Google Earth amid suggestions the online satellite imaging was used to help plan the terror attacks that killed more than 170 people in Mumbai last month. …
Is that Georgia or Georgia?
Oops. Someone in the news business doesn't know the difference between Georgia and Georgia. This is from a news report about the Russian invasion of the Republic of Georgia. Take a look at the accompanying map: The story is reported here. HT: The Map Room Grace and Peace
USGS topographic maps available as PDF files
The U.S. Geological Survey has put its entire current topographic map collection on the internet as PDF files. The maps are available at scales of 1:24,000 (1 inch = 2000 feet), 1:100,000 (1 cm = 1 km), and 1:250,000 (approx. 1 inch = 4 miles). There are other sites (such as TopoZone) that offer a …
Continue reading USGS topographic maps available as PDF files
World Population Density
A good map is a work of art. This graphic shows a computer generated map of population density, with the tall spikes representing the large cities of the world. The map is from the National Geographic Atlas of the World, and can be viewed at the ESRI Map Book Gallery Volume 20. Grace and Peace
Shrinking Dead Sea
Fresh water is a limited resource. It is constantly renewed, but it is not unlimited. This is especially an issue in arid and semiarid areas, such as in the area of Israel and its neighbors. One of the concerns that triggered the 1967 Six Day War, in which Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria, …
Mississippi Meanderings
A skilled artist or craftsman creates things that are not only functional, but beautiful. Here is a geologic map of the lower Mississippi River published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1944, and it is a work of art. The map depicts changes in the meandering course of the Mississippi River over time. …
Driving directions: New York to London
The folks at Google are not only creative, they have fun. Take for instance the "Get Directions" option at maps.google.com. If you type in your address and your destination address, it will give you both a map highlighting the route from point A to point B, and driving directions: Turn left on Elm Street, drive …
Earth as art
"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." -- Genesis 1:31 I'll let these images from NASA's Earth As Art site speak of the beauty and goodness of God's Earth: Grace and Peace
Gas Prices, County by County
US gasoline prices, on a county-by-county basis, are portrayed on the US National Gas Temperature Map. Gas here in Europe ranges from around $4 per gallon (here in Romania) to over $6, so no complaining allowed. Grace and Peace
Denominations in the U.S.
The Map Gallery of Religion in the United States has maps showing the distribution of various religious groups in the United States. To view any of these maps in more detail, you can right click on the image, then select "view image." Leading Church Bodies — this map shows the group that has the largest …
Satellite images in real time
Most satellite and aerial imagery that is available on the internet (such as at Google Earth) is several years old. That is fine for most purposes. The USGS now has a site with live, real-time imagery from the LANDSAT satellites at earthnow.usgs.gov. It won't be useful for finding your house or planning a hike, but …
Google Earth
It's time to get back to my "Web Site of the Week." I'll start with one of my favorites, Google Earth. Google Earth is software that you can download for free, which can be used for viewing imagery of virtually all of the Earth's land areas. Resolution tends to be better over the United States …
I see you!
There are a number of good mapping and imagery sites on the internet. One of my favorites is Terraserver-USA, which has aerial photography of virtually the entire 48 contiguous states. Over large urban areas, the site has high-detail color imagery (good enough to see cars and in some cases the shadows of individuals on the …
GeoChristian 