Lab 7: Station Fire and My Map Interpretation

The Station Fire extended northwards and in uphill direction. When I researched from Wikipedia, I am shocked to know that the fire was the largest and deadliest of the California wildfires in 2009, burning 251 sq miles. The Station Fire burned on the slopes of Mount Wilson, threatening numerous television, radio and cellular telephone antennas on the summit, as well as the Mount Wilson Observatory. It started in the Angeles National Forest near the U.S. Forest Service ranger station on the Angeles Crest Highway. The blaze threatened 12,000 structures in the National Forest and the nearby communities of La Cañada Flintridge, Glendale, Acton, La Crescenta, Littlerock and Altadena, as well as the Sunland and Tujunga neighborhoods of the City of Los Angeles (Wikipedia).

My hypothesis for this incident is that fire tends to move towards uphill direction. As we can see from the temporal pattern from August 29 to September 2 on the map above, the fire expands its size from the lower to upper elevation. This can be proved by the hillshade which provides us a visualization of the slopes and aspects. One possible reason for the upward movement of the fire is that warm air and gas tend to rise. It is because they have lower density and thus less heavy. Besides lower density of warm air, the dry weather of California also facilitates extension of fire.  

In addition, the fire happened next to the network of highway. Thus, there might be a chance that a driver threw out his or her used cigarette from the car, which burned the nearby dry vegetation and caused the fire. Moreover, Relief work for the people who are suffered from the fire would be convenient. It is because there are lots of hospitals and freeways around the area. 

According to the map, I also indicate that the fire covered Angeles National Forest and some LA country parks. This implies that the fire damage lots of vegetations. Therefore, it caused tremendous environmental detriment. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, "the secondary effects of wildfires, including erosion, landslides, introduction of invasive species, and changes in water quality, are often more disastrous than the fire itself." Lost vegetation and exposure of bare ground increase the risk of flooding and debris flow. "Sediment, burned debris, and chemicals affect water quality" (Suite101).

Furthermore, wildfires worsen air quality. When inhaled, smoke and ash can cause negative and lasting health effects, including lung disease. On the other hand, wildfires may have some environmental advantages. The Department of the Interior mentioned that "Many species depend on wildfires to improve habitat, recycle nutrients, and maintain diverse communities." However, the destructions related to the fire outweigh benefits. The chemicals used to battle fires are also perilous to natural world (Suite101).

Works Cited

2009 California Wildfires. Wikipedia. 1 November 2010. 25 November 2010.    <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_California_wildfires>

Map Share. UCLA. 18 February 2009. 25 November 2010. <http://gis.ats.ucla.edu//Mapshare/Default.cfm>

Maps & GIS. Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning. 2009. 25 November 2010. <http://planning.lacounty.gov>

Parent, Jason. “North American Wildfire-Causes and Prevention.” Suite101.com. 3 September 2009. 25 November 2010. <http://www.suite101.com/content/north-american-wildfires-causes-and-prevention-a144814#ixzz15lkuJoS3>

The National Map Seamless Server. USGS. 30 September 2010. 25 November 2010. <http://seamless.usgs.gov/website/seamless/viewer.htm>

Lab 1 Where I live in my life =)

This assignment will be finding three interesting maps and writing one paragraph about each map. I also need to identify the source of the maps, describe the maps, and discuss what I find interesting about the maps. Therefore, I found 3 maps online, which are closely relating to my life.

Map 1

Source: California City Poputlation Map, Californiamaps.us. Accessible at http://www.californiamaps.us/California-Major-City-Map.html 10:45am, Oct 1st, 2010

   This map is about California population. Most people live in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San diego. This illustrates that these are major areas in CA. The map implies that CA's five largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Long Beach, and its capital is Sacramento. 


   I found this map interesting because I am now living in LA, which is one of the largest cities in CA. I learn more about population growth in CA. California's population growth includes natural increase and international immigration. A high population density may create the problems of traffic congestion, pollution, and crimes. However, more people bring more transactions and financial activities. I enjoy living in LA now, but traffic jam here is really serious.



Map 2

Souce: Washingington Road Map, Geology.com. Accessible at http://geology.com/cities-map/washington.shtml  11:47am, Oct 1st, 2010


   This map is about roads in Washington state (WA). As we can see from the map, Washington's North-South interstates include Interstate 5 and Interstate 205, while its East-West interstates are Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. Moreover, Route 2, Route 12, Route 97, Route 101, Route 195 and Route 395 are US Highways and State Routes in Washington. Cities with populations over 10,000 are Aberdeen, Anacortes, Auburn, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bremerton, Burien, Camas, Centralia, Kennewick, Des Moines, Edmonds, Ellensburg, Everett, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kelso, Kent, Lacey, Lakewood, Longview, Marysville, Moses Lake, Mount Vernon, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Oak Harbor, Pasco, Port Angeles, Pullman, Redmond, Renton, Richland, Seattle, Shoreline, Spokane, Sunnyside, Tacoma, University Place, Vancouver, Walla Walla, Wenatchee and Yakima.


    I like this map because it shows all the cities' names and boundaries in WA. I lived in there for 2 years, and I stayed mainly at Bellevue and Seattle. I can calculate the land area of WA from this map, which equals to around 66,544 square miles.Many people may misunderstand that Seattle is Washington's capital, but Olympia is truly the capital of the state. Because of the rainy weather in WA which facilitates plants' growth, WA's nickname is  Evergreen State.

Map 3

Souce: Overview of Tropical Cyclones in August 2010, Hong Kong Observatory. Accessible at http://www.weather.gov.hk/informtc/tc2010/tc1008.htm 12:05 pm, Oct 1st, 2010


     This map is about tropical cyclones around Hong Kong. Amongst the five cyclones, Lionrock necessitated the issuance of tropical cyclone warning signals in Hong Kong. According to the map, Lionrock formed as a tropical depression over the northern part of the South China Sea about 600 km south-southeast of Hong Kong on 28 August and moved northwestwards. It intensified into a tropical storm the next day and turned to the north.

Being a Hong Kong citizen, I feel that one of HK's specialities is having typhoons.Therefore, this map is interesting to me. When  I saw this map, I  got more familiar with  five tropical cyclones formed over the western North Pacific and South China Sea in August 2010. Furthermore, it indicates clearly about the longitude and lattitude of the cyclones. Therefore, this map is a very useful tool to show me the locations of the cyclones.      I was spending my summer vacation in HK during that time. It is usually hot and humid during summer in the city. Honestly, I do not enjoy rainstorms.  The issuance of tropical cyclone warning signals caused by Lionrock prohibited me from joining outdoor activities with my friends. As a result, I just stayed at home and did nothing.