Assignment 5: Development of a Field Navigation Map

Introduction

This exercise is a set up for a navigation activity we will be doing in the upcoming weeks. Will be going out into the field to explore different ways to navigate to points. We will first be using a low tech method, using our strides, a map and a compass to navigate to five different points. The next week we will use a GPS to navigate to the points. That time we will not have a map to use as a reference. Today we will be making our map for of our study area.

Methods

Before making our map, the class first went out side to get our pace count. We each walked 100m several times while counting our steps. This way we were able to see how many our steps equaled 100m. My step count is 63.

After establishing our count, the class went inside to create a map we would use for our navigation course. We were split into teams of three but each student was tasked of making their own map. The team would then choose the best map to use. Our teacher provided us with data to use in the creation of our maps. We were to make a map with a grid on it. This grid was important part because each team would be given lat/long coordinates of our points, which we then would have to find.

Below are the two finished maps that I created. Figure1 shows an aerial photo with a grid overlaying it. The red lines are five foot contours. The contour lines are useful in determining the topology of the land. Figure 2 shows two maps made into one. The one of the left is a smaller version of Figure 1. The one on the right is a slope shading with the five foot contours on top. Each of the maps are at the same scale for acute comparison.

Figure 1: This one of the maps that I made.

Figure 2: The map on the left is an aerial with a grid. The second shows the slop of the land with contour lines to add more detail.