MAPS of West Virginia available FREE online December 29, 2006
Map lovers have a new friend in the West Virginia GIS Technical Center.
The state agency now has state maps broken down by elevation, voting districts, state parks, flood zones and a slew of other topics, and they all can be downloaded to any computer in high resolution at no cost.
Maps even are available showing all the cemeteries, poultry farms and cell phone towers in the state.
Anyone with Internet access and the appropriate file-opening program can pull them off West Virginia State GIS Technical Center, under the "Data" section.
GIS Technical Center Manager Kurt Donaldson says the state Web site contains a staggering $50 million worth of data.
The West Virginia GIS Technical Center -- GIS stands for geographic information system -- is a key component of a statewide mapping project established in 1993.
The center is based at West Virginia University's Department of Geology and Geography in Morgantown and has hundreds of maps available for downloading.
Most recently, the center has unveiled what's called a local resolution basic hydrography dataset, which shows specific surface water features in West Virginia. The maps detail lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, springs and wells.
"There are a lot of uses for those," said Craig Neidig, state GIS coordinator. "The DNR can use it to map trout streams."
People might notice more detail in these maps, too. They contain a higher resolution at a scale of 1:4,800. Most older maps are scaled 1:24,000.
The scaling ratio works like this. If a map is scaled at 1:24,000, it means that one unit on the map is actually 24,000 units on actual land.
Neidig said the technical center receives a ton of requests from government agencies and the casual user for the higher resolution maps.
"People may want a photograph of their hunting camp," he said. "If an ATV rider is working with the Hatfield and McCoy trail folks, they might be doing trail mapping."
Both advocates and opponents of proposed wind tower projects in the state also have utilized the center's elevation maps.
Another group is using maps to create a three-dimensional model showing the potential impacts of development near the New River Gorge.
Some firms use the center's site to create their own maps.
"We get people from California or overseas who want to make maps for West Virginia projects they're working on," said Donaldson, the tech center manager. "We've done projects with the Division of Homeland Security."
The center has made it a bit easier for folks to find the map they want through the Web site Map West Virginia (MapWV).
This map portal was established online in late 2005 to inform Internet users of the many mapping services available. It links to the center's own map database, as well as commercial sites such as Google and Yahoo! maps.
"Whoever wants map resources can get it through the mapping portal," Neidig said. "You don't have to go to 10 different sites."
Neidig said the site is user friendly and offers readable printouts in Portable Document Format.
"In the past, you had to be a mapping professional to utilize the data," Donaldson said. "But now it's becoming more mainstream with commercial applications such as Google coming online. More people are comfortable with how these applications work."
Anyone can go online, type in a home address and take a gander at his or her house on maps that use aerial photography and satellite imaging. In some cases, even the cars parked in a driveway are visible.
An aerial photographer flew around the state in 2003 capturing these images, Donaldson said.
"It's the best map photography found anywhere in the nation," he proclaimed. "We've given it to Google and Microsoft, but they have not uploaded it into their systems yet. Any piece of real estate is covered by that photography."
One of the drawbacks is trying to keep the maps current. By next year, most of the images will be four years old.
"The West Virginia landscape is always changing," Donaldson said. "There's new construction and mountaintop mining."
Despite the widespread availability of online maps and the elaborate detail of some, state officials said they do not necessarily pose a security threat.
For instance, a person can pretty much find any residence or business -- chemical plants and other potential terrorist targets -- through the online maps.
"Most of the information out there is open information," said Jimmy Gianato, director of the state Office of Homeland Security. "If you were to take a map and put a big black square over the Charleston Capitol, that would be more of a signal that something is there."
Neidig, the state GIS coordinator, believes if someone with criminal intentions wants to find a place, they will anyway.
"You can go to the tax department and get a tax map," he said. "The data's out there. We don't put labels on our maps saying, ‘Here's a chemical plant.' DuPont looks like DuPont. It's a big chemical facility. If you black stuff out, that draws attention to it."
Despite the modern technology of maps, none are detailed enough to show specifics of buildings, Neidig said. The closer you zoom in on a map image, the more pixilated and choppy it becomes.
The tech center, which employs five full-time staffers and five students, receives its funding through various state and federal grants, including ones from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The list of searchable maps through the tech center is always growing. Another main challenge for the center is making all the images more accessible to users.
"Look at what Google has done," Donaldson said. "Their map system is functional and easy-to-use. That's our goal."
For more information, go online to the West Virginia State GIS Technical Center Web site at West Virginia State GIS Technical Center or Map West Virginia at Map West Virginia (MapWV).
Contact writer Jake Stump at jakestump@dailymail.com or 348-4842.
Article Reference:
Charleston Daily Mail
Map lovers have a new friend in the West Virginia GIS Technical Center.
The state agency now has state maps broken down by elevation, voting districts, state parks, flood zones and a slew of other topics, and they all can be downloaded to any computer in high resolution at no cost.
Maps even are available showing all the cemeteries, poultry farms and cell phone towers in the state.
Anyone with Internet access and the appropriate file-opening program can pull them off West Virginia State GIS Technical Center, under the "Data" section.
GIS Technical Center Manager Kurt Donaldson says the state Web site contains a staggering $50 million worth of data.
The West Virginia GIS Technical Center -- GIS stands for geographic information system -- is a key component of a statewide mapping project established in 1993.
The center is based at West Virginia University's Department of Geology and Geography in Morgantown and has hundreds of maps available for downloading.
Most recently, the center has unveiled what's called a local resolution basic hydrography dataset, which shows specific surface water features in West Virginia. The maps detail lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, springs and wells.
"There are a lot of uses for those," said Craig Neidig, state GIS coordinator. "The DNR can use it to map trout streams."
People might notice more detail in these maps, too. They contain a higher resolution at a scale of 1:4,800. Most older maps are scaled 1:24,000.
The scaling ratio works like this. If a map is scaled at 1:24,000, it means that one unit on the map is actually 24,000 units on actual land.
Neidig said the technical center receives a ton of requests from government agencies and the casual user for the higher resolution maps.
"People may want a photograph of their hunting camp," he said. "If an ATV rider is working with the Hatfield and McCoy trail folks, they might be doing trail mapping."
Both advocates and opponents of proposed wind tower projects in the state also have utilized the center's elevation maps.
Another group is using maps to create a three-dimensional model showing the potential impacts of development near the New River Gorge.
Some firms use the center's site to create their own maps.
"We get people from California or overseas who want to make maps for West Virginia projects they're working on," said Donaldson, the tech center manager. "We've done projects with the Division of Homeland Security."
The center has made it a bit easier for folks to find the map they want through the Web site Map West Virginia (MapWV).
This map portal was established online in late 2005 to inform Internet users of the many mapping services available. It links to the center's own map database, as well as commercial sites such as Google and Yahoo! maps.
"Whoever wants map resources can get it through the mapping portal," Neidig said. "You don't have to go to 10 different sites."
Neidig said the site is user friendly and offers readable printouts in Portable Document Format.
"In the past, you had to be a mapping professional to utilize the data," Donaldson said. "But now it's becoming more mainstream with commercial applications such as Google coming online. More people are comfortable with how these applications work."
Anyone can go online, type in a home address and take a gander at his or her house on maps that use aerial photography and satellite imaging. In some cases, even the cars parked in a driveway are visible.
An aerial photographer flew around the state in 2003 capturing these images, Donaldson said.
"It's the best map photography found anywhere in the nation," he proclaimed. "We've given it to Google and Microsoft, but they have not uploaded it into their systems yet. Any piece of real estate is covered by that photography."
One of the drawbacks is trying to keep the maps current. By next year, most of the images will be four years old.
"The West Virginia landscape is always changing," Donaldson said. "There's new construction and mountaintop mining."
Despite the widespread availability of online maps and the elaborate detail of some, state officials said they do not necessarily pose a security threat.
For instance, a person can pretty much find any residence or business -- chemical plants and other potential terrorist targets -- through the online maps.
"Most of the information out there is open information," said Jimmy Gianato, director of the state Office of Homeland Security. "If you were to take a map and put a big black square over the Charleston Capitol, that would be more of a signal that something is there."
Neidig, the state GIS coordinator, believes if someone with criminal intentions wants to find a place, they will anyway.
"You can go to the tax department and get a tax map," he said. "The data's out there. We don't put labels on our maps saying, ‘Here's a chemical plant.' DuPont looks like DuPont. It's a big chemical facility. If you black stuff out, that draws attention to it."
Despite the modern technology of maps, none are detailed enough to show specifics of buildings, Neidig said. The closer you zoom in on a map image, the more pixilated and choppy it becomes.
The tech center, which employs five full-time staffers and five students, receives its funding through various state and federal grants, including ones from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The list of searchable maps through the tech center is always growing. Another main challenge for the center is making all the images more accessible to users.
"Look at what Google has done," Donaldson said. "Their map system is functional and easy-to-use. That's our goal."
For more information, go online to the West Virginia State GIS Technical Center Web site at West Virginia State GIS Technical Center or Map West Virginia at Map West Virginia (MapWV).
Contact writer Jake Stump at jakestump@dailymail.com or 348-4842.
Article Reference:
Charleston Daily Mail
