The USGS Topographic Maps of Pahoa

[dakine]

When lava first started making it's way towards Pahoa there was a lot of discussion here about the topographic features on HVO's lava flow update maps and where to get clear versions of the underlying topography (verses the blurry version HVO publishes). After HVO added the blue lines to represent the path of the steepest decent, and thus accurately predicted the flow's path, that discussion moved on to more pressing matters.

For those that have a continuing interest in the USGS topographic maps there is this page:

http://bigislandmappingproject.com/pahoa.html

that has a clear topographic map of the Pahoa area and links to the original quadrangles on the USGS website. There's also a, albeit brief, discussion about the topo maps, the different one's used by different agencies, and their history.

I personally love maps though I am amazed at what is happening now that they are for the most part from an all digital source. The new versions have many advantages I am sure, but to date the quality of the information when compared to what the USGS produced in the past, is amazingly poor. I imagine in digital form there are a lot more possible applications for the information, and one can hope that the detail will improve, but for the time being it's nice to have access to the older versions of the maps.

[lavarat]

Hopefully I still have my Hawaii mapping software somewhere in my packing boxes. This software is from National Geographic and the maps are true reproductions of the USGS maps. The versions that came with Garmin were way off. The big advantage in having the map loaded on your computer is that you can print a map of any location in the state in a small size that you can take with you on a hike. This is especially useful when the area includes four corners of adjoining quads. When I had paper maps I used to scan and paste together parts of the maps to take with me. It was a lot of work and the finished product was hard to read.

Another advantage of the software is that I could download all my saved points from my gps directly on the map with a usb connection. I could also select points on the map that I wanted to visit and download those on my gps. After my hikes I would make a map of the area with all my gps points.

Maybe google maps has put them out of this business since I couldn't find them on sale. Amazon has them listed but not available at this time. I paid about $50 when they were available directly from National Geographic.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597750352

[hereonearth]

Very nice map, Dakine. Thanks for sharing it. Many years ago when I was looking to buy a lot to build on, I went down to 'Basically Books' on the Bay front and bought 2 large Topo maps to use as a guide.

[koaman]

Check out http://bigislandlava.com/
to see an interactive google map of the lava flow. Pan/Zoom/switch between topographic, roads, and aerial photography basemaps. Looks like they are updating it each time the HVO releases their maps. Little bit more dynamic format than the jpgs on the usgs site.

[PaulW]

Thanks koaman!

[Funkstopper]

Nice clear map.
Thanks

[Karma96749]

The map added the blue flow lines. On this map they are yellow. It is a. Clear map. Easy to use and see. Thanks for posting it.

Karma