This helpful posting comes from Maps-L at http://www.listserv.uga.edu/archives/maps-l.html

"Folks:

"Wonderful news. About 300 historic map images of the Gulf Coast area are now available through the Geospatial-One-Stop (GOS) portal. The maps are USGS topographic quads that were scanned, processed and georeferenced by USGS scientists. They are in UTM NAD 27 and are uncompressed GeoTIFFs.

"Here's what you need to do to access these images:

"Go to http://www.geodata.gov Search Under "what", type in "Gulf Coast Historic Maps" You will see the site listed. Select the site, and you'll be placed on an FTP site. This site is: ftp://mcmcftp.er.usgs.gov/Katrina/508dpi/

"Log in "anonymously".

"You will see a long listing of topo map names.

"Remember that you can always find out where these maps are located by picking up a USGS quad index from 1 888 ASK USGS or online on: http://catalog.maplink.com/usgs/USMap.html and selecting the state you are interested in.

"What can you do with these images? You could, for starters, compare the historic maps to new topos and aerials online, for example, on terraserver-usa.com, and observe the amount of landscape change from human activity and from storm surges. Has the coastline changed? If so, how much, and why?

Joseph Kerski

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Joseph J. Kerski, Ph.D. Geographer: Education/GIS US Geological Survey Building 810 - Entrance W-5 - Room 3000 Box 25046 - MS 507 Denver CO 80225-0046 USA jjkerski@usgs.gov Voice 303-202-4315 Fax 303-202-4137 http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/public/outreach/ USGS: Science for a Changing World
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Susan Smith, exec. editor of GISWeekly Review, delivers a fine overview this week of GES, "Geographic Exploration Systems."  Check it out.

• ability to seamlessly explore data for the entire globe in 2D and 3D
• integrate your local data with data and services from ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS, OGC WMS and ESRI-hosted ArcWeb Services.
• perform GIS analysis using tasks (i.e. visibility, modeling, proximity, search)
• answer queries about the maps you generate and share the results with others
• use maps and data from your own secure servers. [more]
  

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The Google Earth blog reports:

Maps of Torino, Italy - Winter Olympics Site - in Google Earth

By FrankTaylor on Sightseeing

GoogleMapsMania recently discovered that Google quietly added a more detailed road map for the Torino, Italy area for Google Local. What is interesting is that in Google Earth we have already had these more detailed road maps. But, not just for that small area. Google Earth's more detailed road maps cover most of Europe now.

To see the roads, you just turn on the "Roads" layer, wait for them to load, and start zooming in. Another big difference in GE is that the road maps adjust their level of detail according to your zoom level, and you can adjust your view dynamically including your tilt and see the 3D terrain. You can go to Torino, Italy now and see the mountains where the Olympics will be held. Also, in Google Earth you can see the detail of the satellite and aerial photos so much better than in Google Maps.

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In recent weeks a sub-set of journalists have begun working with the problem of how do we  quantify and illustrate speech.  Or speeches.  The Cyberjournalist.net newsletter (at the American Press Institute) reports:

Sorta interesting, when it's working.  We applaude the attempt as a fine beginning, but what's missing is some context and explanation, the "So what?" factor.  In fairness, the site's author recognizes the shortcoming, saying: "Of course, they lack any kind of context, but who needs that? (We're kidding.)"

On the other coast, ever-inventive Matt Ericson takes another bite of the State of the Union apple and offers up a more interesting visual, "The Words That Were Used."  [Look in the left column for link to graphic.  But the toned "bubbles" actually show up better in print than online, so if you can't see it well online, try this (and may the copyright gods forgive us).

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We are seeing customized versions of Google Maps being used in all kinds of creative ways across the Web. When you get a chance, check out the dozens of interesting implementations at Lifehack's Essential Resources for Google Maps. These customized maps are easy to use, but not really easy to create. Even with such guides as "How to add a Google Map to any webpage in less than 10 minutes" and tools like MapBuilder.net, creating your own customized map is something best left to ultra-techies (I am not one; I haven't tried it myself). But there is another, easier option for creating your own maps using what I have been calling a collective media project. For several columns now, I have been asking you to to help us with the Web Tips Frappr Project -- a way to show you how the free site Frappr.com uses Google Maps to create maps just for you.   more »