How the Dutch created The Netherlands: A history lesson in mapsHans van der Maarel, Red GeographicsSeeing a modern Dutch coastline on a map that's supposed to portray something set in the past is something that annoys me immensely. In this talk I will highlight some of the big, man-made, changes in Dutch geography.
View presentation »The Land Patents of Western Maryland: Keys to the Settlement ProcessPaul D McDermott, Montgomery CollegePhil Mobley, Federal Government (ret.)Maryland had one of the most complex land settlement patterns of the original colonies. It was unique in that all patents were identified by name. For example, Sarahs Delight. Mapping each individual patent yields a different shape. Some were simple others very complex. By intergrating patent information with a alpha numeric location, one is able to reconstruct and mapsettlement patterns from decade to decade. Another variation is the ability to create line graph showing the settlement land acquisition from 1730-1830. To do all of this 2450 land patents were placed into a large data base consisting of 10,000 entrees.
Master Title Plats in ArcGIS: Mapping Federal Rights, Title and Interest Throughout HistoryFrank Lahm III, USDI Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State OfficeFor more than 229 years, the federal government has been mapping, surveying, disposing and acquiring lands. Tracing its history back to the original General Land Office in Oregon City, OR, the Land Records Team for the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon State Office is charged with maintaining the Master Title Plat (MTP), Historical Index (HI), and official copies of the original land tenure documents for Oregon and Washington. These records have found new life in a project converting the MTP to an ArcGIS format. Along the way, we are tackling the difficult issues of mapping actions that can date back to the time of the Oregon Compromise of 1846.
This presentation will discuss the development of the land record system and issues dealing with historical map standards using modern technology while improving quality and accuracy. It will also cover how the team has dealt with mapping historical actions throughout Oregon history.
A New Series of Maps of the Oregon CountryMorgan Hite, Hesperus ArtsIn 1846 the United States and Great Britain concluded a treaty to divide the last chunk of North America that was not already owned by a European power or the U.S.A.: the Oregon Country. But what was the Oregon Country? In this talk I'll present a series of nine new maps charting the history of what came to be known as the Oregon Country: how its extent came to be defined, popular conceptions and misconceptions of its boundaries (including the origin of the infamous 54°40' line), and the distribution of fur trade operations there. Designed for students and the general public, the maps begin with the first European exploration in 1792 and end with the settlement of the final border dispute between the US and Britain in 1872. I'll also discuss the techniques whereby these maps were produced using free software (QGIS and Inkscape) and free data.