The Outdoorsman CDROM Toolkit |
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Putting the Topo, Aerial and GNIS CD's to Use |
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| Someone once asked me how useful the CD's I offer are to the average treasure hunter/metal detector/hunter/hiker
user. So I decided to write this step by step example of how the CD's can be used and how they compliment each other. In my example I will do the following: |
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| Click the links for more information on the CD's 1) Use the USGS GNIS DIGITAL GAZETTEER CDROM 2) Use PENNSYLVANIA TOPOGRAPHICAL TOPO MAPS CD 3) Use AERIAL PHOTOS OF PENNSYLVANIA ON CDROM |
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| The first step is to find a place to go hunt,fish,detect,hike bike etc. This is sometimes easier said than done.
You could blindly search a map and try to pick a likely spot, and then you may win the lottery also. But we have an easier solution, the GNIS GAZETTEER CDROM. This CD lists almost two million geographic geographic feature names in the United States: towns, cities, streams, rivers, lakes, schools, reservoirs, and parks, valleys, springs, ridges and cemeteries to name a few. Each entry contains the feature name, feature type, county, coordinates and mapname. |
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| See the separate using the GNIS CD tutorial here. | ||||||
| So what you say? Just try it before you judge it. I will a Pennsylvania search for this example, as we will also
be using the Aerial and Topo Map CD's. I started the search program on the GNIS CD and entered the word "historical" in the search field. I enjoy history, especially events that happened in my general area. Few people know how much history happened in their area. I think you will be amazed if you would take the time to read. This search returned 1551 matches (and this was for Pennsylvania only). I will select the following for the example: |
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Acme Mines (historical) mine Clarion 410210N 0792901W 1300 Sligo |
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| We are interested in the following information from this entry: | ||||||
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| Next we would get the Sligo 7.5 minute scale topographical map from CD One and open it up with the on cd viewer.
Using the coordinates given, we can locate the "Acme Mines" on the map, using the coordinates given. (I will not go into detail on doing that here). Once located, we can see the roads we need to take to get there: PA Route 68 to Rimersburg and then 861 to the site. We can take note of the terrain, location of water and other buildings in the area. Road types, railroads, elevation and ground cover can be determined. |
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Cropped (and compressed) topo map image. Site located with black arrow |
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Aerial Photo image (cropped and compressed) Site located with black arrow at bottom right |
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| Now we will view the Sligo aerial photo on Aerial CD One. The 1:24,000 scale topo map and aerial photo cover the same area and share the same name. Start the MrSid viewing software and open the Sligo.sid file. You can locate the feature on the aerial by referencing the topo map and looking in the same area of the aerial photo. The aerial contains NO UTM grids or LAT/LONG markings, this is where the topo is a handy reference tool. Note how the aerial differs from the topo map, besides being shades of black and white. It shows details the topo map won't. Note the tree cover and roads, the pond and cleared land. These are great, valuable easy to use tools that can aid you in many ways. You can export the aerial photo or a section of it in MrSid to the .TIF file format. You can then use this .TIF image in GPS or mapping software. |
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| Now you see how to use all three types of CD's together. The GNIS CD to locate a place. The Topo Map CD to map a route to the area, and the Aerial CD to view how the area actually looks with the features a map cannot describe or show. Here are some suggestions for searches based on your interests: Metal Detecting: towns historical Hunting: "State Game Lands" Forest Fishing: lake stream river Biking Hiking: mountain ridge valley Genealogy: Cemetery place |
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| No need to access the Internet or hog disk space with huge map files. Access your maps and Aerials photos anytime. | ||||||
| Enter the coordinates into your GPS and go right to the site!! | ||||||
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GPS Route and Waypoints Plotted on an Aerial Photo |
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| For myself, I created a Custom CDROM, with the 1:24,000, 1:100,000 scale topo maps and Aerial photos of the areas
I need, all on one CD. This makes access to the different map scales and file formats much easier, without switching CD's. For more information on the Custom CD's click here. These can also be created for you on a CDRW. |
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| Note: the Aerial Cd's require the free MrSid viewing software. Not included on the Aerial CDROM. | ||||||
Click here to get your CDROM'S. |
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