National Geographic: International Edition Magazine

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National Geographic's International Edition is more than a magazine: it's a membership in the renowned National Geographic Society. This is an ongoing adventure that will allow you to explore the diversity of our planet's lands and inhabitants in stories ranging from the treehouse people of remote Irian Jaya to the worldwide information revolution. In addition to National Geographic's International Edition, you'll receive as many as five wall map supplements throughout the year in issues of the magazine, a personalized Membership Certificate and a brief history of the Society, and the satisfaction of supporting important worldwide research, exploration, and geography education. This edition available for subscribers outside the United States and Canada! 12 Issues per year.

National Geographic Magazine is in a class of its own with an editorial focus that spans the globe, probing the farthest reaches of the universe.

National Geograpic Magazine is a great magazine to have in your personal book rack or in the library of your office, university,college,institute, or even in school. To subscribe click this banner below. A new window opens. In the list down menu select National Geographic. Then click the link - 'click here for international Delivery'

Also at the same time you can subscribe for Natural History Magazine which provides a natural, cultural and historical perspective on our world. The editorial approach of Natural History is ecological and evolutionary, with a strong emphasis on scientific validity.

Natural History covers the subjects of biological sciences, adventure travel, environmental issues, anthropology, earth science and astronomy. Natural History is a beautiful magazine that transforms the natural sciences into fascinating reading and spectacular color photography. Now Available for Delivery WorldWide!

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Visit this link for Well Compiled question and answer on GIS Technologies and Remote Sensing:

http://www.get-best.com/IT_Interview_Questions/earth-sciences.htm

What is Maps?

The map is one of the oldest forms of nonverbal communication. Humans were probably drawing maps before they were writing texts

A map is a graphic representation or scale model of spatial concepts. It is a means for conveying geographic information. Maps are a universal medium for communication, easily understood and appreciated by most people, regardless of language or culture.

Are maps realistic representations of the actual world? No--never! Field measurements are subject to errors of accuracy and precision.A map can display only a few selected features, which are portrayed usually in highly symbolic styles according to some kind of classification scheme. In these ways, all maps are estimations, generalizations, and interpretations of true geographic conditions.

As far as historians and geographers can determine, every culture in every part of the world uses and makes maps. This deep lineage reflects the descriptive usefulness of a map—a map is one of the best proofs that a “picture is worth a thousand words.”

The variety of roles that maps play is astonishing. While one map might provide a simple portrait of place and a record of the contemporary landscape, another will be intentionally designed as a commercial census of the people and resources of a place. Yet another offers a glimpse into the fanciful imagination or the great artistry of the mapmaker. Sometimes a single map offers all these insights at once. To look at a historical map is to step into the past; to look at an old map is also to see the world as it would have been seen by the elites, the government, the military, or the navigators of the day.

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Old maps provide much information about what was known in times past, as well as the philosophy and cultural basis of the map, which were often much different from modern cartography. The quest to map the world represents the quest to map the soul, to discover and explore the very limits of human potential.

Man has mapped the heavens from the first moment he turned his gaze upward towards the celestial sphere. There, in the unfathomable vastness of space, he found both gods and devils, truth and mystery. Upon the starry sky, and its uncounted denizens -stars, comets, moons and planets- man imprinted his greatest hopes hates and fears. The skies he peopled with his memories and his wildest imaginings. Now, as modern science has broken the barrier of the firmament and taken us even unto the moon, we reach our aspirations ever higher and farther, into the unknown realms that mapmakers populated with dreams…

Cartography is the art and science of making maps. The oldest known maps are preserved on Babylonian clay tablets from about 2300 B.C.In the great age of numbers and statistics following the Enlightenment (17th – 19th Centuries) men of learning and distinction saw, through the compilation of all human knowledge, a road unto heaven itself. The composition of an accurate world map was one of great way-stations on this noble progression.

Europe, the beating heart and soul of western civilization, home to the great ancient empires of Greece and Rome, and home of the nomadic invaders that destroyed them. Here, the socio-cultural background developed that would eventually birth modern science, and send its navigators to the four corners of the Earth in search of new lands, treasures and peoples. During the period when many of our maps were designed, European powers stood astride the world like colossuses, and it is through these eyes that the cartographers gazed…

Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Downloadable Maps.

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Here I would like to introduce you to an online gallery of antique maps and prints. Here at Geographicus you can http://www.geographicus.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=G&Affiliate=Shreeharsha

What could be a better gift for any historian, traveler, or patriot than a magnificent map of their favorite place, from their favorite era?. Antique Maps are great gifts and perfect decorative additions to any home or office. They are compelling objects that instantly grab people’s attention and transport them to a different time and place. http://www.geographicus.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=G&Affiliate=Shreeharsha

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Subscribe to National Geographic Magazine and Save Money!!!!
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Did you Know?

Sumo wrestling is the top spectator sport in Japan. Wrestlers typically weigh over 330 pounds.

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Your Great source for Geography curriculum,atlases,maps and much more...

Geography is a subject that is easy to teach and fun to study. All you need is a good atlas, some simple outline maps, and whatever curriculum you are already using for history and science. Science? If you’re thinking there may be an error here, let me set you straight – yes, science! You see, geography is much more than simply knowing WHERE a place is located on a map or memorizing states and capitals.Let’s take a look at the definition as stated by the National Geographic Society:Geography: A knowledge of place names, location of cultural and physical features, distribution and patterns of languages, religions and physical phenomena, such as tectonic activity, land form, climate, bodies of water, soils and flora and fauna. The changes in places and areas through time, including how people have modified the environment. Cartographers’ tools, such as maps, instruments, graphs and statistics, are also a part of geography.Since the study of geography has so many facets you can easily integrate it into your current curriculum. When studying plate tectonics, erosion, volcanoes or weather in science, pull out an outline map and let your student depict the details of what you are learning on it. Weather maps are interesting project to develop and so are see-through layered maps, made with clear plastic overhead projector sheets. Layer each sheet on top of the next exposing a different theme. It’s great fun to make a salt dough map of the area you are studying in history.Outline maps provide practical hands-on learning experiences for your students. Here are just few of many ideas to get you started:

• Draw explorer’s maps
• Record Biblical events on a map of Israel or the Middle East.

Depict world empires on maps of Europe, Ancient Civilizations, etc.Use maps whenever possible. From making vacation plans to reading the newspaper or watching the evening news there are always opportunities to look up a place in an atlas. Seeing the place depicted on a map often improves the understanding of the event about which you are learning. Ask questions of your students to develop their skills of observation and their ability to draw conclusions. Do the physical features of the place play any role in the news event reported? What countries (or states) border the one in question? What do you suppose is the main source of water or this community? Label them on your map.Here are some important helpful hints to make adding a mapping assignment to your school day beneficial.

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Make sure your atlas is adequate and appropriate for the student’s level and the assignment given. Does your student know how to use the atlas? A quick lesson will help alleviate frustration. Often good information on using the atlas is in the front of the atlas itself.)
Use color coding with colored pencil, or colored pens to help clarify ages of history types of mineral deposits, elevations in physical geography, etc.
Sit with your student the first few times and encourage him with your help and direction.
Allow plenty of time to get the job done right.

Show off your student’s maps whenever possible and praise him for his efforts.Using the National Geographic Society definition of geography to enlighten your understanding of geography, challenge yourself to find creative "geography moments" throughout the school day. Your students will have and edge in understanding world affairs as they develop a fuller knowledge of geography.

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Did you Know?
The Sahara Desert is almost the same size as the entire United States.

Shreeharsha

Books,Books & Books ...Lowest Price

AbeBooks is the world's largest online marketplace for books. Whether it’s new, used, rare, or out-of-print, it can be found here, through our community of over 13,000 independent booksellers from around the globe. In AbeBooks’ inventory of over 100 million books, readers find bestsellers, collectors find rare books, students find textbooks, and bargain hunters find books discounted up to 90%.

To Search your favourite book

• Click on the links or banners below
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World Sites Atlas

World Sites Atlas features maps of world regions, countries, states, and cities, plus hotels, destination guides, facts, useful links, photos, and more.

Information on countries, provinces, states, and cities, including facts, maps, hotels, and links.
Colorful and accurate maps of world regions, countries, Canadian provinces, and U.S. states. We design accurate, attractive, and inexpensive digital maps for websites and documents. Book hotels, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, and cruises at special low rates right now! Get detailed and helpful travel information for thousands of destinations around the globe. See why the Open Directory is the biggest and best web directory out there.

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GIS Tutorial and Downloadable Maps.

Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Downloadable Maps.

• Are you new to GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and mapping?
• Would you like to learn what it is all about and learn how to create your own maps?
• Would you like to begin a new professional career?

Our online Learn2MapTM Tutorial and Atlas is designed to give you a quick-start introduction to the basics of GIS.
In just a few minutes you can begin to learn how to create sophisticated maps. The easy-to-follow step-by-step distance learning online tutorial is based on free resources. There is nothing else to purchase. All you need to begin mapping today is the Learn2MapTM Tutorial and Atlas.

What You Will Learn ?

Our easy-to-follow step-by-step Learn2MapTM Tutorial and Atlas will show you how to:

• Download free map layers Create a GIS project with ArcExplorer (free)
• Open and view the layers of GIS project
• Navigate and query your maps
• Change colors and attributes
• Add additional layers and create a map project (layers include streets, highways, cities, census tracts and data, school districts, rivers and streams and much more)
• Distribute your maps to others
• Gain access to free maps and resources (list constantly updated).
• Find free GIS and GPS tutorials (list constantly updated). And more

Click here Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Downloadable Maps.

Please note that the Learn2MapTM Tutorial and Atlas is based on free resources. You will not pay anything additional to learn how to use the program or for any maps.

Shreeharsha Hegde

Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Downloadable Maps
http://aditi1007.meuser.hop.clickbank.net

Few Applications of GIS

Geographic information system technology can be used for scientific investigations, resource management, asset management, Environmental Impact Assessment, Urban planning, cartography, and route planning. For example, a GIS might allow emergency planners to easily calculate emergency response times in the event of a natural disaster, or a GIS might be used to find wetlands that need protection from pollution.

Geographic information systems have emerged in the last decade as an essential tool for urban and resource planning and management. Their capacity to store, retrieve, analyse, model and map large areas with huge volumes of spatial data has led to an extraordinary proliferation of applications. Geographic information systems are now used for land use planning, utilities management, ecosystems modelling, landscape assessment and planning, transportation and infrastructure planning, market analysis, visual impact analysis, facilities management, tax assessment, real estate analysis and many other applications.

Functionalities of GIS

Functions of GIS include:

• Data entry or Data creation
• Data display
• Data management
• Information retrieval and analysis

A more comprehensive and easy way to define GIS is the one that looks at the disposition, in layers of its data sets. "Group of maps of the same portion of the territory, where a given location has the same coordinates in all the maps included in the system". This way, it is possible to analyse its thematic and spatial characteristics to obtain a better knowledge of this zone.

Data Creation

Geospatial data has both spatial and thematic components.
Conceptually, geographic data can be broken up in two elements: observation or entity and attribute or variable. GIS have to be able to manage both elements.
Spatial component: The observations have two aspects in its localisation: absolute localisation based in a coordinates system and topological relationship referred to other observations. Example: The ITC, Enschede is located at the particular coordinate X,Y, or, The ITC is located on Hengelosestraat Road, Near Enschede Railway station. A GIS is able to manage both while computer assisted cartography packages only manage the absolute one.
Thematic component: The variables or attributes can be studied considering the thematic aspect (statistics), the locational aspect (spatial analysis) or both (GIS).

Cont..

What is GIS?

GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems

GIS is a mapping technology that allows the user to create and interact with a variety of maps and data sources.

A GIS is a computer system capable of capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information; that is, data identified according to location. Practitioners also define a GIS as including the procedures, operating personnel, and spatial data that go into the system. In a more generic sense, GIS is a tool that allows users to create interactive queries (user created searches), analyze the spatial information, and edit data. Geographic information science is the science underlying the applications and systems, taught as a degree program by several universities.


GIS integrates databases with georeferenced spatial data (maps tied to specific known locations). In other words GIS allows the user to create visual displays of tabular information. In a GIS the user is able to decide how the data will be displayed. GIS projects can range from global projects to site specific (such as a school and schoolyard). Educators and their students can collect and create their own data and uste the GIS to display the data and analyze the results.

Definitions of GIS on the Web:

Analysis that combine relational databases with spatial interpretation and outputs often in form of maps. A more elaborate definition is that of computer programmes for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, analysing and displaying data about the earth that is spatially referenced.www.adrc.or.jp/publications/terminology/top.htm

A computer system designed to allow users to collect, manage and analyze large volumes of spatially referenced information and associated attribute data.www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/G.htm

Geographic Information Systemswww.st.com/stonline/press/news/glossary/g.htm

Geographic information system. An organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information.www.fws.gov/data/IMADS/glossary.htm

A computer system designed for storing, manipulating, analyzing, and displaying data in a geographic context.www.nsc.org/ehc/glossary.htm

In Canada, a supplemental monthly benefit available to Old Age Security (OAS) recipients who receive less income than a stated amount.www.1stinsured.com/g.htm

Gas Imaging Spectrometer. A type of detector on ASCA. There are two GISs called GIS2 and GIS3.ledas-www.star.le.ac.uk/asca/asca_glossary.html

GIS is a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information (ie spatial data).commpres.env.state.ma.us/content/glossary.asp

Geographic Information System (ie Computerized Mapping). www.kentonpva.com/htm/glossary2.htm

Geographic Information System: A system of computer hardware, software and data for collecting, storing, analyzing and disseminating information about areas of the earth. For land transportation purposes, GIS is defined as a highway network (spatial data which graphically represents the geometry of the highways, ie, an electronic map) and its geographically referenced component attributes (road and bridge data, socioeconomic data, etc. ...www.oahutrans2k.com/info/glossary/G.htm

Geographical Information Servicescalview.casil.ucdavis.edu/glossary.html

Computer-based methods of recording, analyzing, combining, and displaying geographic information such as roads, streams, stand or habitat types, sensitive areas, soil types, or any other feature that can be mapped on the ground. GIS are especially useful in management planning and land-use decisions on a landscape scale.www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Extension/ssfor11.htm

Computer programs linking features commonly seen on maps (such as roads, town boundaries, water bodies) with related information not usually presented on maps, such as type of road surface, population, type of agriculture, type of vegetation, or water quality information. A GIS is a unique information system in which individual observations can be spatially referenced to each other. Goalwww.water.ncsu.edu/watershedss/info/rcwp/gloss.html

(Geographic Information System) A system of mapping software that integrates the collection, management and analysis of geographic data. This can be used to display the results of data queries as maps and analyse spatial distribution of data.www.quartix.net/schools/glossary.htm

Geographic Information System, joins electronic files (databases) containing environmental measurements taken at a specific location, to maps showing geographic features. This approach allows scientists to show large amounts of data from specific locations on a map showing landscape features such as wetlands and land use. 2) A computer system that links geographic reference data to attribute datasets, with the capability to display features and analytical outcomes on maps. ...response.restoration.noaa.gov/cpr/watershed/calcasieu/calc_html/resources/glossary.html

A mapping system that uses computers to collect, store, manipulate, analyze, and display data. For example, GIS can show the concentration of a contaminant within a community in relation to points of reference such as streets and homes (ATSDR 2003). www.racteam.com/LANLRisk/Glossary.htm

Geographic Information System, a computer-based graphics program that allows the superposition of plan-maps of thematic elements, such as roads, rivers, land use patterns, and the like to aid in local or regional planning activities. www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/g102/Resources/G102Glossary.html

A computer based system used to input, store, retrieve, and analyze geographic data sets. The GIS is usually composed of map-like spatial representations called layers which contain information on a number of attributes such as elevation, land ownership and use, crop yield and soil nutrient levels.www.bae.uky.edu/~precag/PrecisionAg/PAterms.htm

A computer hardware and software system designed to collect, manipulate, analyze, and display spatially referenced data for solving complex resource, environmental and social problems.www.edisonwetlands.org/resources/glossary.html

A computerized system that provides advanced capabilities for the processing and interpretation of spatial information from the real world. research.amnh.org/biodiversity/symposia/archives/seascapes/glossary.html

Computer-assisted systems that acquire, store, manipulate, and display geographic data. Some systems are not automated. (NASA) www.spaceforspecies.ca/glossary/g.htm

Geographic Information Systems. "Decision support system involving the integration of spatially referenced data in a problem solving environment (Cowen 1988)".fwie.fw.vt.edu/tws-gis/glossary.htm

A computer system capable of storing and manipulating spatial (ie, mapped) data.www.streamnet.org/pub-ed/ff/Glossary/glossaryhabitat.html

A geographic data base that contains information about the distribution of physical and human characteristics of places or areas. In order to test hypotheses, maps of one characteristics or combination can be produced from the database to analyze the data relationships. nde.learningoptions.net/standards/standss/geocont/geogloss.html

Geographical Information Systems organize information indexed by location, made possible by the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and the computational systems www.isye.gatech.edu/~tg/publications/ecology/eolss/node2.html

A geographic information system (GIS) is a system for managing spatial data and associated attributes. In the strictest sense, it is a computer system capable of integrating, storing, editing, analyzing, and displaying geographically-referenced information. In a more generic sense, GIS is a "smart map" tool that allow users to create interactive queries (user created searches), analyze the spatial information, and edit data. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gis

The Algerian Special Forces (French Groupe d'Intervention Spécial, hence GIS) is a special forces group created in Algeria in 1987, initially with 300 members. In addition to the "commando-style" training typical of Western forces like the French COS, Russian Spetnaz, or parachutists, they also receive "intervention" training, like that of the GIGN, RAID , SWAT or Spetnaz Alfa Brigade. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIS(Special_Forces)

GIS can refer to: * Geographic information system.* Geographic information science.* Guaranteed Income Supplement.* Gruppi di Intervento Speciale, the special forces unit of the Italian Carabinieri.* Google Image Search, the image finding capability of search engine Google.* Gas insulated switchgear for electric power distribution en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIS_(disambiguation)

History

GIS has evolved out of a long tradition of map making. In many respects, modern GIS dramatically increases the amount of information that can be contained and manipulated in a map. 35,000 years ago, on the walls of caves near Lascaux, France, Cro-Magnon hunters drew pictures of the animals they hunted. Associated with the animal drawings are track lines and tallies thought to depict migration routes. While simplistic in comparison to modern technologies, these early records mimic the two-element structure of modern geographic information systems, an image associated with attribute information.

Possibly the earliest use of the geographic method, a simplified representations of reality or simplified model of the reality is the Charles Joseph Minard's well-known map of Napoleon's 1812 campaign into Russia ( see figure). This map interprets multiple information themes on one map covering more than a very small area. As mentioned in Prof., Menno Jan Kraaks home page ( http://www.itc.nl/personal/kraak/) it is“possibly the best graphic ever made”“a narrative graphic of time and space which illustrates how multivariate complexity can be subtly integrated… so that viewers are hardly aware that they are looking into a world of four or five dimensions”

Another early work is the one made in 1854 by John Snow which depicted a cholera outbreak in London using points to represent the locations of individual cases. His study of the distribution of cholera led to the source of the disease, a contaminated water pump within the heart of the outbreak.

While the basic elements of topology and theme existed previously in cartography, the John Snow map was unique, using cartographic methods to depict clusters of a geographically dependent phenomena for the first time.

In the 1930s and 40s geographical analysis was conducted by overlaying different types of maps of the same area.Before the advent of computer technoogy, thematic maps on plastic Mylar sheets could be laid on top of each other, revealing more information about an area than was possible with any single paper map. This Mylar method was used for creating different overlays depicting landforms, soil types, vegetation patterns, and geomorphic features.Although the process was cumbersome and the amount of data limited, this method looks remarkably like the output of contemporary GIS; colored thematic maps were generated that aided in planning. Since the 1950s systems have evolved to convert this mapping into digital form and more recently to use this data for analysis and problem solving. Nowadays GIS is everywhere; you may even have some GIS software on your PC without even knowing it's there!

Cont....