Mapping

WMS Mapping

One thing I miss not having internet at home is not having access to web mapping services (WMS). These internet services are handy layers for mapping without downloading individual tiles for aerial photographs, hillshades or topographic maps. I particularly like WMS now that I found the Forest Service topographic WMS service and several state’s hillshades derived from 1m or 2m DEM.

They sure are handy to have access to.

Digital Terrain Models

Digital Terrain Models

Lately I have been experimenting with digital terrain models extracted from the LIDAR point cloud. It allows me to measure the height of buildings and tree cover and can be used for better 3d modeling. 

Don’t Confuse Your Highland and Highlands

One should never confuse the Town of Highlands in Orange County (containing West Point, Bear Mountain, and Bear Mountain Bridge on the Hudson River) with the Town of Highland in Sullivan County (containing Barryville, Eldred, Highland Lake, Minisink Ford and Yulan on Delaware River), with the Hamlet of Highland in the Town of Lloyd in Ulster County (which also borders the Hudson River, and contains the Mid-Hudson Bridge to Poughkeespie).

The hamlet of Highland is pronounced as two seperate words — “high land”, stressing the syllables. In contrast, the Town of Highland in Sullivan County and Highlands in Orange County rhymes with “island”.

You can also drive from Ulster County to Orange County to Sullivan County, without ever crossing any other counties.