Geog 7:Week 1

This blog initially was to record and share my travels around the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I had 10 blogs discussing where I went as well as responding to others' blogs.
Now that it is Winter 2013, I have started a new Geography class. I am taking GIS, Geography 7, and will be blogging about the labs I have done in class.

This week I will be showcasing my 3 favorite/interesting maps and discussing them.

1. http://www.literarylondonartprints.co.uk/Storylines

Literary London created this map (as well as many other art pieces) to celebrate the amazing authors and fictional characters based in London, England. I chose this map because of first of all the content. There is so much rich literary cultural history in London and so many genres and sub-genres created there. This map uses the iconic London Underground Tube map to portray how each genre was created. Each colored line is mimicking the Underground lines, but instead it maps out pieces of literature.  The fact that they used to London tube map, is also why I found this so interesting. In London, souvenirs with images of the London tube map. It even has it's own version of the River Thames, and instead uses it as a way to show all the books that were used based about/on water.


2. http://adn.blam.be/springfield/    (interactive maps, this image below is a screen shot from the website)

The Simpsons, television show, is one of the most popular and longest running animated series of all time. The show is set in Springfield, USA. The state has never been and probably never will be disclosed. This allows them to be as creative, far fetched about their location as they want. This map shows all the places that appear on the television. After watching the show for so many years as well as going on The Simpsons ride in Universal Studios Hollywood, it was great to find a map where you can fully see the city. Although it is fictional, they show the city, how it was planned, along with all the natural aspects and man-made aspects of this city. Hovering over each location will give you a closer image, and perhaps a screenshot from the show, of that place. It also allows you to zoom in closer and explore the city. However, unlike a real city, it does not provide any cardinal directions. One interesting thing is that the creator of this, also informs us on Springfield Facts.

3. http://family.go.com/travel/vacations/california/los-angeles/best-los-angeles-vacation-466312-printable-424072/http://family.go.com/travel/vacations/california/los-angeles/best-los-angeles-vacation-466312-printable-424072/ (on the website, you can find a larger picture with better resolution)

This map is on Disney's Family website. It is created for tourist purposes to allow tourists to easily find popular and interesting spots in Los Angeles. Of course there are many activities and places to see, this gives a fun and quirky way to look at the city. This map is not too scale; the surfers are the same sizes as many of the homes shown on this map. This map does not give realistic/to scale distances nor driving directions. It does show that Los Angeles is in a basin, however. It does however give you a general location in reference to another tourist location. It labels these locations so the tourist can know the name and enough information to look it up independently.

Mashal Ali