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OpenStreetMap -   2009/12/25 | Viewed 83 times this month, last update: 2009/12/25
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| A large part of all the desert/mountain/ocean exploring I've done has been tracking where I've been, and trying to figure out where I'm going, eg: Mapping.
I've been using tons of great tools, Xastir for in-vehicle navigation, OpenMap for on-water navigation, QGIS and GoogleEarth for at-home data work and map generation, and many more.
A month or two ago, I discovered a new tool, or tool ecosystem maybe, that has been making my life better, and more interesting, ever since: OpenStreetMap!
OpenStreetMap is a database of street and geographic data, maintained in a Wikipedia-type way by people around the world. There are several web-based graphical viewers for the database, including the main OSM page, OpenCycleMap, and many more. The OSM community has developed several tools with which people can contribute to the database by fixing incorrect data, and adding new information. QGIS even has an interface into the OSM database, though right now my favorite tool to use is JOSM.
But what makes OSM so useful to me, is the many ways I can use it: On-line from my desktop, laptop or even phone, off-line on my phone via the Maverick GPS-like application, or even on my Garmin hand-held GPS device. Being able to use the exact same data set on all my navigation systems is fantastic! For instance, I can add hiking trails and off-road trails to the OSM database in the days leading up to a trip, then download the map to my GPS or phone, and use that data I just made, but with all the context of everything else in the database, not just my two or three paths! I've found the existing database to be fantastically accurate and complete, rivaling even the Garmin Topographical maps. Of course, since I can (and have) add data to OSM, it has some off-road trails and hiking trails that even Garmin doesn't know about!
Lastly, and one of the real selling points of OSM for me, is that I can replicate the entire OSM database to my home computer, setup my own web front-end, and customize it however I want. And I've done just that. I have up-to-date data for the California/Nevada area, and integrated topographical contours ala OpenCycleMap, but without throwing out some of the road and park data that they choose to not display. I then copy those maps to my phone, and now I have a fantastic map, drawn just how I want, everywhere I choose to be! Not to mention the fact that I can have nice maps on my web site, without depending on any outside service, as you can see above!
I expect to further integrate OSM into this web site, to allow for easier viewing of geo-tagged images, and even showing trip track logs. Cartographic data systems, weee!
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Comments:
Vanessa (2009-12-27): Very cool! Let's go map some trails in Mammoth!
See also: GeoRSS, Southern California Glider Landout Database, Open Street Map: Mojave Project
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