Any map nerds out there?

[Turkish]

I’m not a GIS professional but have geeked out over mapping tech since GPS and Google Maps hit the scene decades ago. I’ve started using some free open source software and lidar data to make some topo maps that have been super helpful for hunting and assessing properties before I even visit them in ways I cannot with the old style topos. To my eyes, they’re almost frame-worthy, at least for a hunting cabin. I’ve even found a way to make geo-referenced pdfs that can be used with free apps on smartphones, with location given.

Anybody play around with this stuff? Anybody need a map made?

Thanks to poster farmerdan for helping me get started with this years ago!

 

[Bill]

Not on land so much but google earth also shows the details of the ocean floor at the canyons we fish. Interesting to see what structure is where.

This is a canyon that protrudes inward from the continental shelf. Water pushing toward shore (that is the right temperature) hits these canyon walls causing up welling water that pushes nutrients up that feed the plankton. Once the plankton show the predatory circle of life starts. Within days bait fish, squid, tuna, whales, and everything is feeding there.

Kinda looks like an underwater mountain but it’s the opposite. That’s a canyon.

 

[chickenlittle]

I’d like to know how you do these. Looks very useful.

 

[jackpine]

I guess I'd call myself a map nerd. I tried using the LIDAR after seeing a post about it. Unfortunately I didnt get far. It would be helpful if some basic info were posted here. What is the best site to access LIDAR, some basic info / instructions, etc

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Telemark]

I’m not a GIS professional but have geeked out over mapping tech since GPS and Google Maps hit the scene decades ago. I’ve started using some free open source software and lidar data to make some topo maps that have been super helpful for hunting and assessing properties before I even visit them in ways I cannot with the old style topos. To my eyes, they’re almost frame-worthy, at least for a hunting cabin. I’ve even found a way to make geo-referenced pdfs that can be used with free apps on smartphones, with location given.

Anybody play around with this stuff? Anybody need a map made?

Thanks to poster farmerdan for helping me get started with this years ago!

That's pretty cool. How do you do it? I have a few spots I would like to see the elevation expressed like that. Everything I have available doesn't have enough details, and I am missing some of the nuances in the elevation of the terrain.

 

[FarmerDan]

I’m not a GIS professional but have geeked out over mapping tech since GPS and Google Maps hit the scene decades ago. I’ve started using some free open source software and lidar data to make some topo maps that have been super helpful for hunting and assessing properties before I even visit them in ways I cannot with the old style topos. To my eyes, they’re almost frame-worthy, at least for a hunting cabin. I’ve even found a way to make geo-referenced pdfs that can be used with free apps on smartphones, with location given.

Anybody play around with this stuff? Anybody need a map made?

Thanks to poster farmerdan for helping me get started with this years ago!

You are a motivated, talented and persistent student. LIDAR is a challenge and you met it with full force. It was an opportunity I thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks for the mention. For others who are interested, LIDAR is a collection of data points from which several derived products are generated. What Turkish created is processed and a "hillshade" digital elevation model (DEM) is created. DEMs are also created using different data sources. Resolution is the detail available in each picture. Each dot - or pixel - in the picture covers a certain amount of ground space. So, a DEM can go from very general, say 90-meters, to very specific. LIDAR can offer 1/2 to 1-meter resolution. More is not necessarily better or revealing.

LIDAR is very expensive to procure and more expensive to store. So, not every geography has LIDAR coverage. If you geek-and-nerd over such stuff Google some of the terms. But, generally an already created hillshade is what you really want. There are many sources of different resolutions. Here's one:

https://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/



Most likely you'll want the ELEVATION DERIVATIVES / Bare Earth Hillshade.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Ok.......

We know that deer like to bed on places on a hill side with slopes of 0 to 5 degrees

So.......

How do I find a LIDAR app to locate 0-5 degree slopes on the hill sides of my property?

bill

 

[Turkish]

Ok.......

We know that deer like to bed on places on a hill side with slopes of 0 to 5 degrees

So.......

How do I find a LIDAR app to locate 0-5 degree slopes on the hill sides of my property?

bill

Well there is definitely a way to create “degree of slope” maps from the DEM data, although I haven’t researched it to figure out how. I’ve seen others showing them.

Sorry for the lack of response, but Dan is right. You need to find a source for the DEMs. Then it’s all a whoooole bunch of formatting of the data. I’ve been using QGIS.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Ok.......

We know that deer like to bed on places on a hill side with slopes of 0 to 5 degrees

So.......

How do I find a LIDAR app to locate 0-5 degree slopes on the hill sides of my property?

bill

OnX has a function that you can highlight all slopes of either N,S,E, or W orientation that are sloped to a particular degree like you are thinking.

 

[Turkish]

Ok.......

We know that deer like to bed on places on a hill side with slopes of 0 to 5 degrees

So.......

How do I find a LIDAR app to locate 0-5 degree slopes on the hill sides of my property?

bill

Quick and dirty. Green is 3-7% slope. This is rugged country. Hard to hunt. Grows cherrybark saw logs better than deer.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I came across a platform that lets you quickly see changes in satellite imagery over time. Below is a link to a suburb of Las Vegas. You just scroll through and see the changes over time, or you can select Toggle Animate Mode. I checked on some of our properties, and it looks fairly similar to Google Earth in terms of being able to see historical views. The added bonus on this is that it is much more up to date than anything I have seen on any other platforms (Google Maps, OnX, Huntstand, etc) and it is easier to use. I believe the most recent is from fall 2022. I don't believe the dates are all that accurate at least for the locations I have checked. I think it will have to be run on a PC.

World Imagery Wayback

Wayback imagery is a digital archive of the World Imagery basemap, enabling users to access different versions of World Imagery captured over the years. Each record in the archive represents World Imagery as it existed on the date new imagery was published. Wayback currently supports all updated...

livingatlas.arcgis.com

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Here is a sample of a random spot in southern IA. Didn't want to include the home farm because it posts GPS coordinates in the GIF.