Lab 6

These maps show 3 different aspects of the same region in South Dakota: the aspect, slope, and elevation.

These next images are a 3-D model of the same area of land shown in the three maps above. All of them show the same area, I just rotated the map to see different angles and different color gradients.

 

When thinking of American topography most people probably imagine the great Rocky Mountains going down through the country, or even the Sierra Nevada's of California. People most likely don't picture the middle of the country. So when deciding where to locate my map I decided to pick an mountainous place that is also very important to American history. The Black Hills of South Dakota were home to Native Americans, sight of Native American and settler conflict, and home to a mining boom. One of these famous mining cities Deadwood was the setting for the Hollywood film, Calamity Jane starring Doris Day. Famous landmarks in these mountains which rise out of the Great Plains and stretch into Wyoming are Crazy Horse, and Mount Rushmore. The extent of my map in decimal degrees was 0.017453292519943295. The geographic coordinates are as following: North(top) 44.6799999998, West(left)-104.4025, East(right)-103.4925, and South(bottom)44.1927777775. These topographical maps are very helpful in understanding elevation. The most manipulative is the 3-D model because the mapmaker could use a scale that could make the elevation, lope, and aspect look much steeper or smaller than it is in reality. I enjoyed this lab, because these kinds of topographic maps are more visual than those with contour lines. It is interesting to see such detailed views of a region. These detailed visuals are enhanced by the bird tool while making the 3-D model.