Topographic map pdf

In , the Latvian State Land Service was formed, with responsibility for cadastral, geodetic, and topographic surveying and mapping and property valuation, with a priority to establish new and scale photogrammetric mapping based on the Universal Transverse Mercator UTM projection Parry and Perkins, An agreement was reached in with Satellitbild the Swedish Space Corporation to create a sheet scale topographic series using SPOT imagery, resulting in full-colour published mapping of the country as well as a digital cartographic and toponymic database by the end of Parry and Perkins, With the achievement of independence, Latvians gained unprecedented access to detailed topographic information.

According to Collier et al. The involvement of various countries, such as Sweden for the provision of satellite imagery, Denmark for support with cadastral mapping, and, more recently, the United States with technical assistance in the provision of the new topographic series, would indeed seem to indicate a re-alignment to the West. In order to substantiate such observations and address whether topographic maps consciously reflect the achievement of independence, it became necessary to enter into dialogue with a contributor to the design of the new symbology.

In this particular case, the interview was performed during a guided tour of the LGIA and, due to time constraints, was followed by direct correspondence via e-mail in order to clarify some details. Firstly, regarding recent mapping initiatives, the following points were made: Production of the first edition of the map started in and was completed in , with a second edition completed in Both editions use SPOT imagery as the background.

The main task of this first mapping initiative was the creation of a GIS database and this was the first map to cover the whole territory of Latvia since independence.

Production of the first edition of the topographic map began in , was completed in , and a second edition begun in The military version includes detailed information such as bridge dimensions and composition , while the civilian version excludes this information and is based upon a Latvian grid system.

Changes in the design of the second series symbology are related to the need to unify map symbols and map features among NATO countries. As for the perceived user base of the current maps, the following point was made: The main users are government organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Map symbols were designed with military users in mind. Concerning the legend language of the maps and why does Russian not appear given that almost one third of the population speak Russian as their mother tongue , the following point was made: The Latvian language is the official state language. It is clear that one significant outcome of the achievement of independence was the opportunity to create a new database — an inventory of the state held within a GIS, somewhat resembling a modern Domesday Book.

Moreover, map sheet designations follow a new arrangement, unlike the maps of Poland, which use the International Map of the World system adopted by the former Soviet topographical mapping programme. It is, however, surprising that Soviet symbology still dominates the style of Latvian topographic maps, given the strength of anti-Soviet feeling since independence and its subsequent expression in legislation and state-supported thematic cartography.

This clearly implies a continuing Russian influence on the design philosophy behind the creation of topographic maps. If the cartographic symbols on post-independence maps have been designed with military users in mind, it is highly likely that these would involve a similar set of design considerations as those created for the former Soviet topographic maps, which were not available to the public.

Their functionality would not seem to hinder their utilization by perceived users such as local government although it might have implications for other potential users, such as foreign or domestic tourists. One of the most curious qualities of the new topographic maps concerns the sole use of Latvian in the legend explanations, despite the high proportion of the population having Russian as their mother tongue.

This would seem to indicate not so much a re-orientation towards the West which might, for example, involve the use of English or German in the legend explanations as a rejection of the Russian language and its associations with the Soviet past.

Although some countries maintain the use of a single language on their official topographic maps e. The use of topographic maps for the exploration of a national Latvian landscape using experience, imagination, and memory is therefore less likely to occur since maps and mapping have been downgraded within Latvian society. Although topographic map symbology is typically slow to develop, in Latvia it appears to be gradually moving away from its Soviet legacy. But if, as Martinsons 42 points out, the ideological indoctrination and massive Russification programmes that endangered the Baltic languages and cultures will have a residual impact for decades, it may be a while before topographic map symbology in Latvia is used in the construction of national identity or even becomes a more authentic expression of the values and needs of the Latvian population.

Stylistic Currents in the Topographic Maps of Post-Independence Slovenia The Republic of Slovenia is situated in central Europe, crossed by the south-eastern ranges of the Alps and possesses a small strip of coastline along the northern Adriatic Sea. It shares borders with Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Italy. Slovenia covers an area of 20, sq.

The terrain is mostly mountainous and covered with forest the highest peak of Triglav rises to 2, m or ft and is located in the Julian Alps. The capital city, Ljubljana, has a population of , Gladman, While the recent history of Slovenia is similar to that of Latvia in that it broke away from a union of communist republics, Slovenia became an independent nation-state for the first time in , after seceding from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia SFRY.

In , Slovenia was the richest and one of the most ethnically cohesive of the central and south-eastern European countries to accede to the European Union — the only former Yugoslav republic to do so — and in , became the first post-communist country to adopt the euro.

With the achievement of independence, Slovenia won the opportunity to produce detailed topographical mapping without specifications being dictated from Belgrade, and, more significantly, it was now able to make this information available to the general public for the first time.

The availability of information has also increased, with the provision of state topographic data via the Internet, for example. Moreover, as stated by Kent and Vujakovic , the current Slovenian state topographic map series is somewhat unique in that a far greater number of discrete symbols are employed in describing the landscape than in any other country.

The first goal was the creation of a new national topographic map series at scale. In , existing detailed topographic maps consisted of those produced by the VGI in Belgrade, which had not been updated for ten years and were practically useless Petek and Podobnikar, The topographic maps subsequently appear in two versions: a national topographic map NTM and a military topographic map MTM. The following summarizes the main findings.

As Slovenia developed, the demand for maps increased. Slovenia is a mapmaking nation. Although topographic maps had been available since the s, their content was inhibited and they were intended for less-skilled users. Karst depressions were omitted for strategic reasons hiding places for tanks , as were grids and individual buildings.

Before , detailed topographic maps were not available to the public; they could be obtained for uses such as orienteering and planning, but had to be safeguarded against unauthorized use by foreigners, etc. In , the Slovenian Government declared that all cartographic material is public and therefore no longer secret. The first topographic maps produced after independence at simply excluded the Yugoslav language Serbo-Croat and adopted Slovene marginalia, used new colours for the road classification, and country insignia.

There was a political motive to cover the whole country quickly, in the cheapest way and so limited updating was undertaken. Image was very important and a country map was placed on the reverse of each sheet showing the sheet index. For the new map series, the topographic maps of Austria, Switzerland and Italy were examined for ideas. This picks up the depressions from the karst landscape that were missing before. Regarding the design of the topographic map symbols and possible influences for their design since independence, the following points were made: After independence, possible source material included out-of-date and maps, civilian maps complete with reprographic films , and tourist maps, together with a set of , , military maps as paper sheets.

The majority of symbols came from the Yugoslav maps as they cause no problems of generalization, especially for representing relief.

Throughout the process, the intention was to reach a good cartographic solution and there was never the intention of simply retaining the existing style. Maps of other countries were examined and the colours of the Italian maps, the fonts of the Norwegian maps, and the general design of the Austrian and Swiss maps were thought most appealing. Let us know how we can continue to improve access to the USGS topographic map collection. Click the play button below to see some of the new features in action.

Thanks for using topoView! Build — 2. This mapping was done at different levels of detail, in order to support various land use and other purposes. As the years passed, the USGS produced new map versions of each area.

The most current map of each area is available from The National Map. TopoView shows the many and varied older maps of each area, and so is especially useful for historical purposes—for example, the names of some natural and cultural features have changed over time, and the historical names can be found on many of these topographic maps. Geologic and topographic mapping have a long tradition together see report. Geological Survey. Chris served as the topoView development lead.

Over the last decade, he's been focused on improving the accessibility of geologic map data to the public.