Bivaraite North Carolina map

West Nile Virus Bivarite Map

Super Typhoon Haiyan Maps

Size of the Philippines compared to the US

Dot-Density map of the population of West Virginia

Final Project Proposal: Virginia Lighthouses

I am going to do my final project on the location of lighthouses in Virginia. I will also add details of the lighthouses that the map audience would find interesting (i.e.- I will point out which lighthouse is the oldest).

 I chose this topic because I grew up near multiple lighthouses from Maine all the way down to Florida. I remember lying in bed watching the light from the Assateague Lighthouse through my window. I believe the audience for this map would most likely be tourists, although it could also be used a general map. There is not going to be enough information on the map for it to be used for navigation purposes. The data for when the lighthouses are running and how far the lights can be seen is available, but is not meant for this type of map.

The map would be a thematic map. Each lighthouse would be a specific point, and each point will be represented by a small lighthouse. The scope of the map would be the state of Virginia, specifically the eastern half. Most of the lighthouses are located in the southern eastern part of the state, although a few are located on the north western side/eastern shore. The base map would be of the state of Virginia, also focusing on the eastern half of the state. The data is from the United States Coast Guard 2013 Volume II Atlantic Coast Light List (found at this link). The list and data is updated weekly or as needed and it is very accurate. It includes a list of “lights, sound signals, buoys, daybeacons, and other aids to navigation”. It also includes the coordinates to the exact location of each lighthouse, buoy, etc.

The main challenge with the map will be to put every lighthouse on the map without it looking crowded or sloppy. If a vector image is not available, another challenge might be to make a lighthouse image.

The steps to making most of the map will not be too hard. After finding a good basemap of Virginia, I will either use a vector image of a lighthouse or make an image of the lighthouse. Then, I’ll use the coordinates to place the lighthouses at their correct locations. If space is available or when the information might be important, I will include it next the lighthouses. Finally, the most tedious part is to add the small details to the map that make it look professional. The colors and what data are on the map will be important, because without it, much of the map will look empty.

Dot Density Map of China

Each dot represents 50,000 people.

Dot Density Map of Australia

 This a dot density map of the population of Australia. It's interesting that most people live on the coasts, but that is because the center of the country is mainly desert.