How do I overlay a topo or satellite map with my cave map?

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How do I overlay a topo or satellite map with my cave map?

Postby GroundquestMSA » Nov 16, 2011 7:23 pm

What is the easiest way to reconcile the scales?
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Re: How do I overlay a topo or satellite map with my cave ma

Postby Chads93GT » Nov 16, 2011 7:42 pm

2 entrances help ;)
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Re: How do I overlay a topo or satellite map with my cave ma

Postby John Lovaas » Nov 17, 2011 11:40 am

If you're just using a graphics program, such as Paint Shop Pro or MS Paint :tonguecheek: , you can do it, as long as you have drawn scales on both images. I did this before I learned GIS.

Your topo image is your bottom layer, and your cave map is your top layer. 'Simply' use the graphic program's scale tool to match the distance on the map scale to an equivalent distance on your topo image.

The next step is to make the background of your cave map image transparent, so that all you see of that top image is what you've drawn. How you do that depends on the image format and the software you are using. But it can be done.

If you have data that you can enter into Compass, you can export a shapefile to view on Google Earth, Compass' own overlay viewer, or on ESRI's ArcExplorer Online. All free.
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Re: How do I overlay a topo or satellite map with my cave ma

Postby Martin Sluka » Nov 17, 2011 1:07 pm

Not only Compass has such possibilities.

Others cave survey and map generations software may do this job very well too.

Check: http://cavemaps.org/
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Re: How do I overlay a topo or satellite map with my cave ma

Postby trogman » Nov 17, 2011 1:21 pm

If you want to use a more old-fashioned method, you could print out the cave map on scrap paper, adjusting the zoom until the scale matches that on your topo. Then print the map onto a transparency, and overlay it onto your topo. It works for me. If you trim the transparancy, be sure not to cut off the north arrow.

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Re: How do I overlay a topo or satellite map with my cave ma

Postby pub » Nov 17, 2011 7:34 pm

Martin Sluka wrote:Check: http://cavemaps.org/
Thanks for your input Martin :waving:
I can use the link as a model of what I wanted to do for our area.
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Re: How do I overlay a topo or satellite map with my cave ma

Postby Chads93GT » Nov 17, 2011 8:36 pm

As far as multiple entrance caves go, I have used the gps coords of the entrance on google earth, overlaid the map on google earth, dimmed the map image, streached and skewed the map till the entrances lined up, then drew over the cave passages then turned off the map layer to just show me the plot line of the cave that I just drew. Ive only done this a few times, and only with caves that have more than 1 entrance. ITs not perfect, but when you dont have the actual survey data, and the appropriate programs for plotting out the plot line over the topo map, then you sort of have to make due anyway that you can. Good luck.
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