Need help figuring out the ins and outs of our maps?
You’ve come to the right place.
We have been standardizing our maps throughout the website so that most of them will operate the same way and you won’t have to learn anything new when you move from map to map. We use Google Maps to generate the maps embedded throughout most of the sections in our website, and this gives you the chance to do all kinds of cool things– you can zoom in and out, move them around to different areas, read the information in the icons, and a lot more.
If you would like to get an in depth look at Google Maps you can go to their help website by clicking here. But if you’d just like the basics, look below and we’ll give you some pointers.
The maps might load a bit slowly, depending upon your connection speed, so don’t be surprised if the page initially appears empty and then the image pops into place. The same is true of the different parts of the map– it might take a little time for the icons, lines, etc. to appear. We ask that you be patient, its worth the wait.
There are navigation tools on the left with a + and – sign, those can be used to zoom, or you can double click on a spot on the map and it will zoom in. The arrow keys on the navigation tool can be used to move to the right left or up or down (you can also “grab” the map with your mouse and move it around).
We have zoomed the maps in to the view that we think is the most useful in each section–some of them are in close up views and look like aerial photographs, but you can use the zoom tool to get a different view if you’d like. The map below is a zoomed in image of the map above, and is the view that you will see on the Lecompton access ramp page.
If you click on an icon and open up the information balloon, the map might jump to a location above the original place you were looking at– this is because it needs to make room for the information balloon. After you close the balloon you may have to scroll back down to see the other icons. Many of the balloons have “more information” links in them, and some link to other websites (such as the EPA MyEnvironment website that is linked to the water dischargers maps in the Where You Live and Work section). You can also use the “get directions” links to use other tools provided by Google Maps.
You can scroll up and down in the map by holding down the mouse button and pulling the map back and forth. You should see a little fist on the map that looks like it is grabbing it while you pull it around. You can also use the arrows on the upper left hand side of the map to move it around.
You can switch between Map, Sat and Ter using the buttons on the upper righthand side of the map. These settings mean Map=looks like a road map, Sat=satellite imagery, and Ter=terrain, which is the best for viewing rivers and lakes. You can also turn on and off the labels in the Sat mode if you want to see the satellite photographs with or without the roads and cities overlain on them.
We have also provided maps (for example, in Where You Live and Work) that have GPS photos embedded in them. The icons are small thumbnails and if you click on them you will see a larger version of the photo. We use Terrain view as the default to help you more easily see the photo icons, but you can zoom in close to a photo in satellite view to see what the river looks like from above as well as in the photo from river level.
Hope this helps you have fun with our maps. Please let Contact Us if you find any problems or need more help.
Thanks.
Cynthia
FOK’s Science Advisor
Here is a short video by Google explaining some of the features of Google Maps. You can visit their help website by clicking here.
