GeoBase in Action
Following the Trail Less Travelled: Backroad Mapbooks Uses GeoBase CDED Data to Create Eye-catching 3-D Maps
Navigating unfamiliar terrain - particularly when you're driving on back roads or hiking in the wilderness - can be a challenge at the best of times. But when you attempt such exploits without a good map, you can end up wasting time, missing opportunities, or getting lost.
That's why the outdoor recreation guides from Backroad Mapbooks make such wonderful travelling companions. Created especially for outdoor enthusiasts, these detailed maps depict not only city and rural roads but also forestry and logging roads. You'll find trail systems that range from popular hikes to off-road routes as well as parks and recreation areas and paddling routes. In short, the maps present a potpourri of helpful information for hunters, fishers, hikers - even Sunday drivers - essentially anyone who takes advantage of Canada's outdoor pastimes.
Adding Colour Coded Elevation to Maps Injects a "Wow!" Factor
In business since 1993, Backroad Mapbooks has offices in Peterborough, ON, and Burnaby, BC, and employs up to 18 full- and part-time staff. The company has succeeded by continually improving its maps and adding value for its target audience. When Backroad Mapbooks discovered that it could use GeoBase data free of charge to create the illusion of three-dimensional maps, it knew it had found another winning formula.
"Originally our maps were very blasé," said Mr. Jason Marleau, associate director with Backroad Mapbooks. "They were two-dimensional, and they were basically boring." But scan through one of Backroad Mapbooks' new maps today, with their stunning use of shading to represent differences in elevation and the term "awe-inspiring" springs to mind.
"Our customers just love the new maps," said Mr. Marleau. "When people see them, they say, 'Wow! You've come a long way'. Even people who are not interested in maps notice the difference."
And just what has created this difference? Two things: one, access to GeoBase data, and two, a software program that Backroad Mapbooks created. This program allows the company to use the GeoBase Canadian Digital Elevation Data (CDED) layer to create topographical maps with contour lines and then integrate these maps with various other data - such as data depicting a system of national hiking trails. By combining these datasets, these maps reveal a trail's steepness, an immensely helpful perspective that non-topographical maps simply can't match. A glance at a map will now tell hikers whether they're in for a leisurely stroll or a merciless struggle, and they can choose their routes accordingly.
"GeoBase has literally taken our maps into the 21st century," said Mr. Marleau. "They're now like an art form, and the difference is like night and day."
GeoBase Simplifies Map Production and Reduces Costs
Having access to national data also greatly simplifies the company's map production. Before gaining access to the GeoBase CDED data, Backroad Mapbooks had to patch together data from various provincial sources. Working with some of these data files proved onerous. The company had to break down massive files into little pieces and layer these pieces into their products - a time-consuming task. Because the GeoBase CDED data integrates with other data so easily, the company can produce maps much more quickly than it could before.
"This convenience saves us time and massive amounts of money," said Mr. Marleau. "Consequently, we can offer high-quality, three-dimensional maps at reasonable prices."
And perhaps surprisingly, the GeoBase CDED data enables the Backroad Mapbooks writers to better compose complementary text. For example, writers no longer have to rely on either someone else's word or their own experience to describe a trail's steepness or the ease of accessing a point of interest along a given route. "The GeoBase data has helped us research our outdoor-recreation writing," said Mr. Marleau. "As soon as we put the GeoBase data in and add our topographical lines, the maps spring to life."
Sticking to CGDI Data Standards Pays Dividends
Sometimes Backroad Mapbooks hires contractors to help create their maps, and these contractors take little time to get up to speed with using the GeoBase CDED data. In fact, the company has found that graduates of today's geomatics or web-mapping programs are well familiar with GeoBase data and its standards. These standards align with Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) data standards endorsed by GeoConnections. Common data standards allow for ease in sharing geographical data.
Backroad Mapbooks plans to offer three-dimensional maps for every province within the next year. "We are at the top of our field with producing maps, which is attributable to having access to the GeoBase data," said Mr. Marleau. "The information is accurate, and up to date. There is so much competition in our industry that something like GeoBase gives us a little bit of an edge."
For more information and Digital Editions of these guides, visit www.backroadmapbooks.com