Lab 1

Map 1

http://www.dailyyonder.com/getting-gas-without-hazards/2011/11/07/3590

The "Lower 48 States' Shale Plays" map displays the location of natural gas reservoirs in the continental United States. As the map is a standard US physical map with the shale locations overlaid, it is able to portray the location of the natural gas in reference to mountain ranges, lakes, and major river systems. The location of shale plays has risen in importance in the last decade as natural gas and its extraction (fracking) was highlighted as "green" and an American-based replacement for oil.  However, the potential health and environmental hazards of fracking, such as groundwater contamination, have recently come to light. The toxicity and danger of the hundreds of chemicals used in current fracking methods is the main source of concern. The recent movies Gasland and Promise Land highlight this. A map such as this one shows the interaction between the location of fracking (the shale plays) and the water sources that are potentially in danger of pollution.

 

Map 2

 

http://downtownvoices.org/2008/11/29/us-population-and-growth-trends-by-county-1970-2030/

The "US Population and Growth Map" illustrates the projected population change in the counties of the United States. It is both color coded and in 3D to highlight various features. The map can be slightly misleading as the height of the bars represent the overall population density of the county and not increase or decrease. It is the colors, ranging from blue to orange, that display the population change. One interesting facet exemplified by the map is  that most population decline takes place in the rural areas of the Midwest (North Dakota and Montana south to western Texas) and the old industrial regions along the great lakes (Detroit, Cleveland, etc.). This coincides with places that were most devastated during the height of the Great Recession. Surprisingly, another population decline hotspot is the Northeast. Population growth is predicted to be greatest in the Southwest and, surprisingly, in Florida.

Map 3

 

http://mhermher.blogspot.com/2011/11/college-football-map-part-iii.html

This is a state map of the United States. The states are represented and broken down by their college football fan base. For instance, Southern California is equally dominated by the Bruins and the Trojans. The map illustrates how important college football is socially to Americans. It exemplifies a very unique and narrow geographic view of the US. However, it is also very biased. The blogger who created the map had to revise it several times because commenters where unhappy with how their school or their school’s competitor was displayed. Alaska is not shown on the map because there are no NCAA division I, II, or III colleges in the state.