There's another cool site like this that wasn't as graphically cool but popped up various rivers quickly just by mousing over. Can't find it right now but I'll check again to see if I can dig it up.
openstreetmaps ftw. Get that, turn on cartographic overlays (outdated scans but still useful), aerial imagery, download and import nhd data, pull up ngs website, and enjoy. Help us map rivers! Even better if you can do an actual ground survey w/ gps.
I spent way toonlong mapping our houses in my neighborhood. It's always funny to see my work on apps, I'm like shit that street is missing houses I need to get on it.
yeah, it's addictive, I started with sidewalks in my neighborhood, and before I knew it, I was mapping parking zones, fire hydrants, trash cans, benches, traffic signals, speed limits, turn lanes...
Be sure to check out the osm wiki! For editing, you can use their web viewer, but I personally prefer JOSM for more advanced work. Vespucci is a great tool for mapping on your phone.
Agreed, I've learned a lot doing this. Sometimes it leads to a story, like the ruins of a federal fire watchtower that was destroyed by arson, or discovering one of the largest fisheries in the country. I've also noticed a lot more houses are torn down in my city than might be expected. Whole blocks are empty fields now, or maybe have one derelict house remaining.
It's also disturbing just how much trash people collect in their yards... and the massive wounds of foresting and strip mining.
Ugh, I was in rural china once and the uncle of my ex threw all his trash in his back yard. Disgusting. Nobody really minded though. They didn't approve, but they didn't confront him.
It’s a fun way to do some free virtual tourism. Especially if it’s well travelled places with plenty of user content. Plus, you get to be as nosy as you want, without making people uncomfortable.
I love looking at odd architecture for example, but not everyone would appreciate me walking around their building and peering intently through the windows.
That sounds like an awesome job. As someone who loves aviation, photography and maps, I’d probably really enjoy that. How’d you get into that field if you don’t mind me asking?
Nostalgia is an incredibly powerful thing. Especially when it comes to elderly and/or people with dementia.
I’ve done a fair few VR demonstrations with my Quest headsets. Google Streetview-like apps are always a big hit with everyone. It’s a great way to revisit places from the past with a good sense of presence. And of course to see a place you’ve always wanted to go.
The LiDAR dataset you're using was scanned in a forested area and doesn't include any secondary return data. As a result, your watersheds are occluded and the data doesn't provide the greatest cartography.
Bro wtf where does the river come from? I tried following it upstream on gmaps but it just stops in the middle of some field. Not even a mountain or something