tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post3346593868812181899..comments2024-01-08T14:21:37.465-08:00Comments on Infinite Art Tournament: A User's Guide to "Forty Maps that Will Help You Make Sense of the World," Volume IVMichael5000http://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-28678163238007780542014-02-03T16:53:31.991-08:002014-02-03T16:53:31.991-08:00Yea, "where there aren't rivers" is ...Yea, "where there aren't rivers" is a little interesting, but the map doesn't really help you make sense of that. I mean, okay, the High Plains have some sparse areas, but why are there so many in the Dakotas west of the Missouri River, especially in contrast to the mostly empty area to the south? Personally I know the empty area there is the Sand Hills of Nebraska, which probably explains it, but the map doesn't tell me that, or even that that area is Nebraska. Another empty area I see and know about it the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho. It's an interesting area where the ground is so permeable that streams just sink into the earth, joining a big aquifer, and emerging in the Snake River Canyon. I think the long empty area just east of the Missouri River in the Dakotas is the Coteau des Prairies. I admit I have a thing for rivers and river maps in general.<br /><br />In any case, my main problem with the river map is how the data is obviously a patchwork with differing levels of detail. You can clearly see how there are "tiles" of data, some with a greater density of streams, some with less. The map creator points out on Flickr, where it comes from, this issue, saying it probably has to do with how the National Hydrology Database (NHD) was digitized from USGS topo quads. Also, as the creator points out, it is not a map of "rivers" per se, but hydrology "flowlines", which means it includes usually dry streams like arroyos but does not include "places like the Everglades where specific flowlines haven't been defined". Anyway, it's a kinda fun map, especially at larger sizes, but it doesn't really "help you make sense of the world".<br /><br />Yes, the earthquake map is a good one. The rubber duckie one needs context—there's an interesting story behind it, but by itself the map doesn't really do much. It does make Tacoma stand out though, yay Tacoma!<br />pflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16866574024138674337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-54825981596867092342014-02-03T14:01:57.465-08:002014-02-03T14:01:57.465-08:00I agree with you that that is its strong suit.<b>I agree with you that that is its strong suit.</b>Michael5000https://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10779294.post-20710044635816414002014-02-03T08:36:50.916-08:002014-02-03T08:36:50.916-08:00I actually kind of liked the rivers one, in negati...I actually kind of liked the rivers one, in negative, because it does a decent job of showing where rivers aren't.Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475862386179357634noreply@blogger.com