Lab 8 Exercises
In this activity you will learn to identify features of a stream using satellite imagery in Google Earth Pro. You will create a hand-drawn map of the fluvial features you identify along a segment of the Elbow River in Calgary, Alberta on the homelands of the Niitsitapi (the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai), the Îyârhe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations. Located just south of Mount Royal University’s campus, this segment of the Elbow River was one of the areas affected by the 2013 flooding. Elbow River also plays a crucial role in supplying Calgary’s drinking water.
You have been provided with the following starting materials to complete this mapping activity:
- A base image from Google Earth satellite imagery (Elbow River Map Area) that you must print out
- A digital copy of the 082J-16 NTS Priddis map sheet on which your map area resides (do not print this)
The purpose of your map is to show your reader the locations of erosional and depositional features of the Elbow River. To convey that information in a way that is useful, your map needs to include some standard cartographic elements including:
- Title
- Scale
- North arrow
- Legend
- Sources (e.g., satellite imagery, base map, reference map)
- UTM coordinates for a reference point on your map
- Refrence to the National Topographic System (NTS) map sheet on which your map resides
Title
Your map should have a succinct but descriptive title that includes some reference to the geographic area. This could include the name of the river, the NTS map sheet on which your map resides, or the name of a prominent local landmark that is featured on your map. Your title must also include what type of map you have drawn, e.g., topographic map, geological map, map of glacial landforms, map of population distributions, etc.
Scale
Your map must indicate scale using both a scale bar and a representative fraction. Remember, you can calculate the scale on your map by comparing the length of a distinctive feature on your map and a topographic map of the same area. But first, because you are examining an electronic version of the topographic map on a computer screen rather than a printed version you need to ensure that you are viewing the topographic map at the correct scale (as your device may distort the size of the image on the screen).
To check if your topographic map PDF is being displayed correctly, measure the scale bar on the map. For a 1:50,000 map sheet like the one you are using, 1 cm on the scale bar should represent 500 m on the ground. By holding up a ruler to measure, zoom in and out until this is true on your computer screen before you follow the steps below.
- Measure a feature that is visible and distinctive on both your map and the topographic map. Record your measurements in the same units for both. The distance between intersections along a road, or in a straight line between two distinctive features are good places to measure.
- Use the formula below:
For example, for a feature 5 cm lo