Journey North Map Basics
Background
One of the most unique and exciting aspects of Journey North is the opportunity
to use the real-time maps based on observations submitted by students,
other citizens, and scientists. We maintain "live" maps of the
monarch migration each fall and spring. If
you want students to practice mapping skills you can purchase a large
classroom wall map or make your own. If you are not working on
mapping skills — or lack time to routinely update maps — students
can still analyze the migration by using Journey North's online maps.
Here is basic background information:
Where do I find the live online maps?
| You can find links our live maps in these places:
In all cases, you will see a the "thumbnail" image of the map. Click on the "thumbnail" image to view this season's live map. |
 |
- See this Slideshow Introduction about Journey North's live MapServer.
Here's what students can do with the maps:
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Report their own sightings and see them appear on the map. The MapServer updates maps five minutes after an observer submits a sighting.
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Select and view a map that shows all sightings for any species.
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Click on any data point to read comments from the observer. (This is useful if students have questions about sightings.)
-
Measure distances between sites.
- Zoom in and out.
- See the timing of the migration at a glance. Locations of sightings are coded with a different color for every two-week interval.
- Click the ? icon on any map for help navigating.
- Try this! Submit a "Practice Report" now. Then find it on the live map.
How
do I print Journey North maps?
In order to analyze our maps,
your class may want printed copies. We
provide two formats for printing. Test each to find which works best for
you:
1)Print directly from the live
map.
2) Print this sample "printer-friendly"
migration map. (A link to "printer-friendly" maps is provided
in the migration updates only.) If neither map prints properly, please
review the suggestions in Printing
Journey North Maps. You can also send questions to Journey North via
our feedback form.
If you choose to plot the migration on a classroom map, students can build mapping skills and an understanding of math, science, and geography concepts such as latitude and longitude.
Where
do I find a base map?
See Recommended
Tracking Maps for information about purchasing maps. The
Mapmaker, Mapmaker lesson describes
how students can make their own maps.
All Sightings appear instantly in our database as soon as they are reported. We also provide a Data Summary for Classroom Mapping in each week's Journey North News Update. The summaries only include:
a) sightings that have been reported recently, and
b) sightings that have been reviewed by our staff for accuracy. Sightings include: date, town, state/province, latitude, and longitude, comments. Students can use this data to locate observers' sites so they can plot them on their migration maps.
Using
Town and State (or Province)
If you use the town and state/province information to locate sites, you
will need a road atlas to find the location (or online atlas such as Google
Maps which works even better). Once students find the location, they
will need to find the same place on their wall map. This approach gives
students good practice using an atlas and index (or search engine), but
it can be tedious work.
Using
Latitude and Longitude
All Journey North sightings include latitude and longitude. You
may find it easier to locate a site using latitude/longitude coordinates
than a town name, depending on the age of your students.
Please note that we use decimal degrees, whereas many maps use degrees, minutes and seconds. (To convert: There are 60 minutes in 1 degree. For example: 45.50 decimal degrees equals to 45 degrees, 30 minutes. If this is confusing, simply round off to the nearest degree and use the town name to pinpoint the location.) Final note: All longitude values are given as negative numbers when in the western hemisphere.
