GPS and Mapping Along The Trails

• What are Maps?
• A must see web site is the Geography and Map Division Library of Congress Home Page for Maps, where one can go directly to the page on Map Collections: 1597-1988 to find maps on Cities and Towns also Discovery and Exploration including the 1814 Lewis and Clark Map and in addition Settlements and Towns. There are even a number of pages devoted to The History of Railroads and Maps. You'll also be able to see Panoramic Maps from 1847 to 1929 from the Library of Congress. There are many more pages in this extensive web site that I haven't listed!
• Animated Map of California Showing the formation of the Missions
• Animated United States Map Showing the development of territories, borders, states from 1650 to 1912.
• Books and Maps Search this site for specific low cost historical maps
• Brief Summary of the Santa Fe Trail through Kansas Report of Committee Appointed to Prepare a Correct Map of the Old Santa Fe Trail Across the State of Kansas in 1912
• The NPS's Cartographic Resources Homepage
• Clickable Map of the Cherokee Trail
• Clickable Map of the Overland Trail
• Clickable and Downloadable State Maps adapated from those created by the Bureau of the Census
• Clickable Oregon Trail in Oregon
• The 1872 Map of Colorado Counties A bit slow, but worth waiting for.
• Dark Sky Image Map Clicking on this map will give you a listing of approximate zenithal naked eye limiting magnitude, distance, longitude, and latitude within a 60 mile radius. Read the instructions on this page to find the best dark sky sites in your area.
• Using the information at the above site, and following the link to "home" (where I clicked on the Image Map) I was able to plot out My Location! This has really dark skies! I am fortunate in that I do not see a single light from my property!
• Exploring the West How Lewis and Clark determined Latitude and Longitude
• Exploring the West from Monticello: A Perspective in Maps from Columbus to Lewis and Clark
• Facsimile of �A Map of part of the Continent of North America.� 1810.
• Finding Your Way With Map and Compass from USGS
• September, 2001 Spotlight of the Month Frémont and the Determination of Elevation Throughout the reports of John Charles Frémont's first and second expeditions, elevations are given for points reached on the routes, of passes through the mountains, and of mountain peaks. The measurement of heights, with reference to sea-level, is called hypsometry.
• Garmin International The leader in GPS information, software, instruments, etc.
• Geocaching A GPS device and a hunger for adventure are all you need for high tech treasure hunting along the trails! This is a great activity--finding "caches" or creating your own for others to locate.
• Geodashing! Getting there is all the fun!
• Graphical Display of the Federal Township and Range System Diagrams on how a township is laid out.
• GPS: A Tutorial This tutorial is designed to give you a good basic understanding of the principles behind GPS without loading you down with too much technical detail.
• GPS: Global Positioning System Absolutely everything you need to know about GPS!
• GPS: Degree Confluence Project The goal of this project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. A great activitiy for those on the trails with a GPS unit. Lots of places in the west that haven't been posted yet.
• GPS Software This site has GPS software in any language you might ever need.
• Historical Maps of the United States
• Historical Maps
• The History of Mapmaking Pre-Columbian maps in Mexico used footprints to represent roads; early Eskimos carved ivory coastal maps, and Incas built relief maps of stone and clay. A good site with lots of information.
• How to create Clickable Maps
• And how to create Clickable Imagemaps This one is so easy to use!
• The Importance of Original Land Surveys Jefferson's Land Ordinance Committee established a rectangular system of land subdivision before settlement, rather than to follow the older pattern of indiscriminate land claims.
• Landsat Thematic Mapper Image of South Pass
• Latitude/Longitude Conversion Format
• Map of United States: 1854
• Making Maps Easy to Read
• Map Symbols To Download
• Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me A Map Examples of types of maps
• MapQuest Explore the world!
• And a Mapmaker Crossword Puzzle! Print it out and see how well you do.
• Maps and GIS Mostly California and the Western States
• MapMaker: Map Processing for Windows
• MAPS: GIS Windows on Native Lands, Current Places, and History An excellent site for all kinds of maps
• Maps and Photos of the Santa Fe Trail
• Maps from 1895 Click on a state or county
• Maps of the Department of Dakota, 1875
• Maps of the Donner Party Includes James Reed's map of the Humboldt River, the route of the Snowshoe Party, map of the Cabin Sites, and Map of Donner Camp Area in a Topo Map.
• Lots of Maps of the Southwest Desert Historical Areas.
• The Map Machine from National Geographic--maps of every state and every country in the world.
• A Mapping and Simple Geographic Information System for Windows This simple GIS package specifically designed to be easy to use for any map work on the web. See also their page on Sources of free map and geographic name data
• The Nature of Geographic Information: A GIS Primer This site is worth your time if your are at all interested in learning about GIS
• Microsoft TerraServer: On line aerial photographs The world's largest data base. Find many locations on the earth and zoom in to see up close. Toggle between aerial photos and the corresponding map. A great site!
• The National Park Service's Digital Maps Directory
• Another site for NPS Digital Maps
• Still another site for maps from the National Park Service
• The Nature of Geographic Information: A GIS Primer This site is worth your time if your are at all interested in learning about GIS
• Nebraska Natural Resources Commission The Home Page, to get to The Spatial/GIS Data Bases where you can choose from a variety of data bases including Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles, an Interactive Nebraska Map with selectable features, and other Land Use maps.
• Oregon Historical Society Map Collection. A number of maps from 1838 of Oregon Territory, Washington Territory, Indian reservations, Military explorations, and rivers.
• Trail Atlases and Trail Maps Low cost maps and atlases on historical trails
• The USGS Mapping Home Page
• US Public Land Survey System From USGS.... more than you'll ever need to know about land surveys using PLSS
• What is a Quarter Section? A typical Quarter Section Homestead Farm was 145 football fields and a typical township had approximately 100 farms.
• What Is A Section?...also includes links to Townships and Ranges.
• What's The Difference Between Longitude and Latitude? First, think of the world as an orange...
• GIS In The Rockies An annual event in the Rocky Mountain region. Professionals from Colorado and neighboring states take advantage of this conference to stay current on industry trends, changes in standards, and other activities that are important to the GIS industry. (Lizabeth Larson was a member of the 1998 Board)
• And.... Road Map Collectors of America

Please use e-mail if any of the above links don't work.

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