Category Archives: Fun Stuff

Mapping Grand Canyon National Park

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For those of you that like historical cartography and the Grand Canyon, you might find this online lecture very interesting.

2021 “Maps & America” Arthur Holzheimer Lecture: “Mapping Grand Canyon National Park”
April 8 @ 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

Tom Patterson, US National Park Service Cartographer (Ret.)
Mapping Grand Canyon National Park 

Tom Patterson, US National Park Service Cartographer (Ret.), will present a virtual talk, “Mapping Grand Canyon National Park,” on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 4 pm PDT.

Patterson’s presentation will focus on four recently published maps of Grand Canyon National Park that owe their design inspiration to renowned mapmakers of the twentieth century.

This will be the 31st annual Maps & America lecture, supported by an endowment created by Arthur and Janet Holzheimer.

The lecture series was inaugurated by the noted cartographic historian, Brian Harley, in 1990. Over the years, the series has featured many of the leading figures in the field of map history and provided a multifaceted survey of this rapidly developing field. A list of previous speakers can be viewed here.

Click below to register for the webinar.

The National Map Corps

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The National Maps Corps is an online crowdsourcing mapping project with volunteers successfully editing structures in all 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Structures include schools, hospitals, post offices, police stations, cemeteries, and other important public buildings. By updating and verifying structures data, volunteers are making significant contributions to USGS National Structures Database, The National Map, and ultimately US Topo Maps.

If you have some time, why not do a little data editing? Click below and check it out.

Aerial Photographs Tutorial

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This FREE crash course (tutorial) will teach you a basic understanding of how to use and interpret historical aerial photographs (air photos). 

This tutorial is designed to be used by adults including undergraduate students.  The tutorial is a serious endeavor created to teach you something; it is not a site for pretty pictures.

The tutorial is broken into 2 parts — introductory text and quizzes.  The introductory text can be completed in approximately 30 minutes.  The quizzes are skill-building exercises and can be completed in 30 to 45 minutes.

In this tutorial you will learn: 

  • To think in a logical order when trying to find and examine aerial photographs 
  • To understand the 5 basic questions to always ask when examining aerial photographs 
  • About The Colorado Time Machine aerial photograph collection at the Arthur Lakes Library, Colorado School of Mines 
  • To understand the potential and limitations of aerial photographs 
  • Introductory techniques to interpret human activities shown on aerial photographs 

Start learning about air photos!  https://mines.libwizard.com/f/airphotos_2 

Think you already know a lot about aerial photographs? 

Go directly to the quizzes!  https://mines.libwizard.com/f/airphotos_2/p/21 

Mercator’s World

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Geographical maps are a mirror of what we know about the world around us. Few individuals contributed more to the map making field than cartographer Gerardus Mercator. Check out this site that examines Mercator’s map making breakthroughs and mistakes, while also recognizing his lasting legacy. We still use Mercator’s projection for making nautical and aeronautical charts!