The Terraserver provides the following information:
- Distances in English and Metric measurements.
- Lattitude and Longitude values. Handy if you own a GPS.
- Several zoom-in / zoom-out levels.
- The photo images displayed are 400 pixels wide by 200 pixels long. The default zoom level is 16 meters (a meter is about 39") per pixel.
- The maximum zoom out level is 64 meters/pixel
- The maximum soom in level is 1 meter/pixel
- Ability to scroll / navigate thru the photos using compass points (N - S - E - W), etc.
- **Update**
I revisted the TerraServer on 02-15-2000. The TerraServer now has topographic map support. The topo maps displayed by the TerraServer are zoomable to 2M.
Useage Tips:
- Know your terrain and identifyable characteristics - you are looking at the earth from miles up. You must be able to visualize what you see at ground level as it looks from the sky. TIP: Look for promanent features such as rivers, roads, etc. Fields and woods, etc are subject to change.
- Start from a known location, such as a town - make sure you spell the town name correctly and with correct capitalization. You can also use county names.
- Know how to locate your spot - as if you were driving / walking to it.
- Not all of the country (US) has been photo-graphed. Photo-graphed locations are in green on the map displayed upon entry to the TerraServer web site. The TerraServer has photos of most of the United States, and portions of Europe. Click on the map for an expanded map which shows additional locations which have been photographed.
- The images displayed on your screen while using the TerraServer are not saveable images (ie JPG's). You can save the image you are looking at, but you must allow the TerraServer to download a JAVA Script to your system. You can trust this script - it is certified to not cause any damage to your system by the USGS (United States Geological Survey).
Here are some pictures I saved when using the TerraServer. Note: These images were captured when the TerraServer displayed a "sqaure" image.
This is a view of the Keller Wildlife Management Area. Keller is located in Olmsted County, in SE Minnesota. The streams you see are a local creeks and the South Branch of the Zumbro River. The light gray line up the center of the photo is a county (2 lane) blacktop road. This photo is a "mid-level" magnafication.
The darker tree line in both photo's are hardwoods - oaks and maples. The lighter colored trees are softwoods, such as basswood, box elder, willow, etc.
This is a shot of where I got my spring 1998 Tom. This photo is a shot of the extreme upper right hand corner of the previous photo. A majority of this photo does not appear in the upper photo. This photo is the maximum level of magnification.
You can "sync" the images by finding the dark spot (plowed / tilled field) and white spot (a meadow or hayland) below it in the upper right corner of the upper photo. In the lower photo, this area is in the mid left side of the lower photo, right before the river bends. Another feature to look for is the small wooded point under the hayland.
Maps:
The TerraServer photos, combined with a topographic map, make great way to scout new hunting spots, or to figure out where to place your stand for next season. Notice that these photos do not show ground contours (but suggest it). Other areas, with more extreme elevation changes may show this. A topo-graphic map will make up for this.I like my topo-graphic maps in the 7.5 minute format, and I usually purchase them from the Map Store in St. Paul, MN. I recent found a site called TopoZone.Com which has them online. And like the TerraServer, you can't beat the price (free).
You can check the following links, which will take you to the maps of Keller WMA. These maps correspond to the photos I have from the Terra Server. You navigate on TopoZone.Com much like you do on the Terra Server. You can print the maps, but I have not found a way of saving the images.
1:100,000 scale = 15 min scale
1:24,000 scale = 7.5 min scale
You will find the 7.5 map contains the boundries of Keller on it. These are not accurate. I have found that some of the maps that TopoZone.Com has are several years out of date, mainly due to the fact that the USGS has not updated their files.
