Favorite Map 1: Clearwater National Forest Map

I really like maps when they describe areas I have traveled for work, school, and recreation. By traveling in a mapped area, you have the opportunity associate mapped geographic features, areas, and map scale with actual places and physical distances. On the ground, the effort required to make a map (surveying, aerial photo digitizing, GIS compilation, etc.) can really be appreciated.

Below is a map of the Clearwater National Forest; this map includes Moscow, the University of Idaho Experimental Forest, and the Floodwood State Forest (All areas I have visited). Typically, national forest maps are for general reference, mapping everything from rivers, roads, property boundaries, and the public land survey system.

Figure 1. A map of the Clearwater National Forest. This map is produced by the US Forest Service and is projected in NAD27 UTM Zone 11 at a 1:126,720 scale (0.5" = 1 mile). Moscow is highlighted in red, the University of Idaho Experimental Forest is highlighted in light blue, and the Floodwood State Forest is highlighted in magenta. [Private land = white, Forest Service land = green, state land = dark blue, and Potlatch Landholdings = pink.] Note: This image only covers the northwestern portion of the national forest. Digital copies of national forest maps are not available to the public.

Data Classification Map

Figure 11. The original Lab 3 data classification map applying four data classification schemes to the percent urban population of Idaho counties.

Figure 12. The revised Lab 3 data classification map applying four data classification schemes to the percent urban population of Idaho counties.

For the map revision, the visual hierarchy scheme was applied to correct deficiencies in the original map layout. To shift focus away from certain map items, the title was limited to one line, the north arrow was made less prominent, and bold text was removed from the credits. Smaller text was also used for the title and credits. To increase the prominence of specific map items, a larger map scale was applied, increasing the mapped area’s size and drawing more attention to the mapped area. Finally, the legend, credits, north arrow, bar scale, and written scale were rearranged to fill “white space” and create a “balanced” map.

Non-hierarchical items were also modified during the map revision. First, the map’s orientation was changed to better suit the mapped area’s dimensions. Second, the map units were converted to inches and miles, given the high likelihood of an American audience. Finally, the map’s projection was changed to the Idaho Transverse Mercator; this map projection accurately projects the entire state of Idaho while UTM Zone 11 does not accurately represent Southeastern Idaho.

Freehand Map

Figure 9. The original Lab 2 Macromedia Freehand map depicting Boulder County in Colorado.

Figure 10. The revised Lab 2 Macromedia Freehand map depicting Boulder County in Colorado.

For the map revision, the visual hierarchy scheme was applied to correct deficiencies in the original map layout. To shift focus away from certain map items, the north arrow was made less prominent and smaller text was used for the title and credits. To increase the prominence of specific map items, the legend was rearranged vertically with linear features listed first and area features listed second. In addition, a light gray was added to the map foreground to create a clear division between the foreground and background. Finally, the legend, credits, north arrow, and written scale were rearranged to fill “white space” and create a “balanced” map.

Non-hierarchical items were also modified during the map revision. First, a frame line and a neatline were added to “clean up” the map’s appearance. Finally, the date and data source were added to the credits.