Wildfire Maps

In California, the fire season generally starts in June or July and runs through October or November. Currently there are many fires burning in California and in many other parts of the United States (and all over the world for that matter). If you’d like to visualize wildfires on a map, you have several options.

CAL FIRE displays current wildfire information in the state of California. There are options to display recent perimeters, active air assets, and other options.

Google Maps can display wildfire information if you click on Layers > More > Wildfires.

MSN Weather Map also has a map with a dedicated Fire Information layer.

All screenshots were taken within the last hour, so you can compare and contrast the available information and visual presentation. Be safe out there!

3D Modeling Earth’s Surface

Have you ever wanted to create a 3D model of a specific section of earth’s surface? I heard that it could be done using topographic data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). So I asked ChatGPT to tell me step by step how to convert USGS topographic data into a 3D model in .stl format (see thread here). In response, ChatGPT told me that I need to:

1. Download USGS topographic data
2. Preprocess the data using GDAL to convert to ASCII Grid
3. Convert ASCII Grid to a 3D mesh using QGIS and the DEMto3D plugin
4. Optionally refine the 3D model in MeshLab
5. Save the final model in STL format

That sounded complex to me, as it involves applications and file formats that I have not previously worked with. Fortunately, I discovered that there is a much easier and faster way to get 3D models in .stl format. Simply use a website that provides this specific service. Here are 2 options:

Terrain2STL is a website that allows you to create .stl models of the surface of Earth. Its interface is pretty straightforward. You can zoom/drag to a location using Google Maps which defaults to Terrain View. You can also enter GPS coordinates (refer to this post for a refresher). Next, enter details about the width, height, and other details related to the dimensions of your desired model. Then adjust settings related to water and base height and finally export your model in .stl format. Terrain2STL has the advantage of its simplicity, but its main disadvantage is its resolution which is limited to 90 meters. Here is a screenshot of Terrain2STL (click to enlarge):

TouchTerrain is another website that allows you to create 3D printable terrain models. Similar to Terrain2STL, TouchTerrain allows you to zoom/drag to a location using Google Maps, but TouchTerrain also allows you to search for a place by its name, address, or GPS coordinates which can be very useful. TouchTerrain also allows you to choose from 3 different elevation data sources, each of which has varying resolution ranging from 10 to 2000 meters, depending on its purpose. For me the default USGS data source with 10 meter resolution produced a model with the level of detail that I was looking for. It also has inputs for 3D printer settings such as your build plate dimensions to help you determine the maximum size of your model. After inputting the relevant settings, generate and download your .stl model. Here is a screenshot of TouchTerrain (click to enlarge):

After you get your desired model from either Terrain2STL, TouchTerrain, or another method, you’ll be ready to slice and 3D print your model.

Aerial Photos of Black Lives Matter Plaza

On June 5, 2020, a two-block section of 16th Street NW in downtown Washington DC was renamed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to “Black Lives Matter Plaza” as part of ongoing protests against racism and police brutality aimed at black Americans. Earlier that day, the Department of Public Works painted a mural on the street with the words “Black Lives Matter” in 35-foot yellow capital letters. Today, June 8, Apple Maps not only reflects the new street name but also shows the newly painted mural from its aerial photos:



Google Maps reflects the new street name, but its photos have not yet been updated to include the mural:



There are many other mapping applications that may be updated with new images over time, so if you want to view them, enter GPS Coordinates 38.901317, -77.036539 and check for yourself.

Google Crisis Map

With the recent wildfires in Los Angeles and the current fires in Australia, I’ve been tracking developments on Google Crisis Map.

On top of the usual Google Maps technology, there are additional layers of information that users can display. Categories include:

• Public Alerts (emergency information including evacuation notices for hurricanes, storm warnings, earthquakes, etc.)
• Tropical Storm Information (hurricanes and storms, including current location and forecast path)
• Evacuation Resources
• Traffic & Transit
• Floods
• Wildfires

While it is currently mostly focused on US-based weather and events, there is coverage of the ongoing Australian wildfires.

I wonder what the Google Crisis Map would have shown in San Bernardino County on December 26, 2019 when we got stuck on the road due to highway closures from snowstorms.

In any case, I hope you’ll never need to rely on this resource, but in the event that it may become useful in the future, now you know.

Mapping the U.S. National Parks

About a decade ago, I thought it would be a fun goal to try to visit all of the national parks in the United States. They are managed by the National Park Service, and currently there are 61 of them. If you also count national monuments, national historic sites, national seashores, and other national park system designations, there are currently a total of 419 units.

Over the years, I've maintained a spreadsheet of the national parks that I've visited. Not only have I periodically documented which one's I've visited, I've also had to make a few recent additions such as Pinnacles NP (established in 2013), Gateway Arch NP (2018), and Indiana Dunes NP (2019). However, a friend suggested that I create a map to visualize my progress, so I created one using Google My Maps:



I plan to update this map over time, but as of today I've visited 31 of 61 U.S. national parks. Not surprisingly, I've been more likely to visit national parks that are closer to home (Los Angeles). In fact, I've visited all of the national parks in California (9), Utah (5), Arizona (3), New Mexico (1), and Oregon (1) which are within striking distance of a 1-week road trip. Since Hawaii is one of our popular vacation destinations, it also made sense to visit its 2 national parks. Because travel logistics to Florida permitted, I've also checked off its 3 national parks.

Visiting the remainder of the U.S. national parks will require some careful planning (and time and money). I'm not only referring to the ones in the continental U.S. Namely, there are some national parks in Alaska that do not have navigable roads (Katmai NP, Lake Clark NP, Kobuk Valley NP, and Gates of the Arctic NP) so will require either chartered flights and/or backpacking trips. Also potentially challenging are American Samoa NP and Virgin Islands NP because of their distance from home, but commercial flights and lodging are available.

It is fitting that I wrote this blog on the 103rd anniversary of the National Park Service which was formed when the Organic Act was signed into law on August 25, 1916.

Google Maps Earth View

I frequently use Google Maps to look up locations and driving directions. Normally I search and browse in Map View, where you are able to grab and move the map along its horizontal and vertical axes. View this map for example:

Earlier this week I switched to Earth View to see the satellite imagery and noticed that Google has made its online maps 3-dimensional. View this map for example (note that I was able to see Earth View in “3D” when using Safari and Firefox on macOS Sierra, but I was not able to see this on any browser using Windows 10, although I'm not sure why):

If you zoom in to locations near the equator, grabbing and rotating the “3D” map seems to move the map in plain horizontal and vertical axes. However, as you move toward the North Pole or South Pole, you can clearly see the earth spinning on its axis. Very cool.

Based on some online forums, I've deduced that most mapping web sites use rectangular map grids which are a good approximation of locations near the equator, but near the poles the longitudinal spacing is exaggerated, making the land area appear larger than reality. I suspect that Google has implemented its “3D” maps by representing grids as trapezoids to account for the curvature of the longitudinal lines when transforming a 3-dimensional globe to a 2-dimensional computer screen.

Does anyone know the proper terminology to describe the “3D” effect or a description of its underlying technology to render its Earth View?