Tuesday, June 18, 2013

U.S. Waterways, visualized

I grew up on the water, by water I mean saltwater. I am still confused by large bodies of water without salt in it. I've been to some big lakes and sank like a rock, Yes I do understand physics but this was still a surprise to me. I guess if there isn't the threat of sharks or a rogue sea turtle, I'm outside of my comfort zone. Nevertheless, this is still pretty cool. Former Google engineer Nelson Minar collected an exhaustive list (which was then mapped) of all U.S. inland waterways. This data, sourced from the U.S. Geologic Survey includes rivers, streams, tributaries and creeks (or cricks if you have a Philly accent :) ).

Its actually pretty incredible the level of coverage in the lower 48, especially in the areas usually seen as part of the dustbowl. Definitely click the source link below for the full-res, zoomable version of this map.






Source -> http://www.somebits.com/rivers/rivers-polymaps.html#5.00/39.012/-99.884 via http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-06/all-americas-waterways-one-map-infographic

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