RRC Archives

I know there are some other map nerds out there who will find this stuff interesting. Motivated souls who are interested in customizing topo maps for adventures and expeditions can use this info. (If you weren't already aware, you can get free USGS topo maps for anywhere at the USGS store. The newest versions are sweet PDF files that include high resolution satellite imagery, and many layers that you can toggle ON/OFF. Bored readers: turn back now.

I've been playing around in ArcGIS (a mapping program--there are many similar free ones) with digital elevation models. They're easy to work with, and lots of cool things can be done with them. They're basically big files that describe elevation every few meters or so across the landscape. They cover the whole country.

With them, you can create topo maps, contour lines, simulated shadows (e.g., sunrise vs. sunset), etc. You can even mark a point on a map and have it display which topographical features will be visible in the distance if you were standing there.

I took DEM files for Kentucky and constrained the data to only display slopes >75°. In other words, I wanted to look at clifflines exclusively. Searching for clifflines using satellite images can be easy (i.e., google maps), but usually the shadows from tall cliffs only indicate one side of an amphitheater and not the other, as satellite imagery is a snapshot. Theoretically, this approach should display all steep drainages. The results are patchy, and clearly inaccurate in some places... but fun to look at anyway. I color coded them to indicate steepness from "cool" to "hot" (pink).

Here is Bedtime for Bonzo, I think:


The Red River is crudely drawn in MSpaint, here:


Muir Valley worked pretty well:


Here's part of the PMRP. Anyone ever been to the hot pink area toward the bottom? It may not have any cliffline (satellite imagery doesn't show any shadows there....) but it is probably steep as hell. Who knows.



The other ?? area at the top left doesn't show up well in my map, but google imagery clearly shows some MASSIVE amphitheaters. Again, they may only be 20' tall of rock... or on private land.... anyone ever been out thay way? Looks like a bushwack:





File Den! Free direct linking.

The ? in the bottom map is all on Forest Service land and from my one trip out there it is big and tall and some of the deepest horseshoes around. The bottom ??? on the second to last map is spring hollow. I am not sure who owns it, but I know there are other people besides me that know a whole lot more.

ditto andrew..spring hollow has potential on the left side but pretty sure it is private on bottom and same access issues as oil crack/arena as to owns the cliff (us on top, owner on bottom)

Yep, same owner as Oil/Arena. The USFS zone in the bottom map is legal only for trad and some truly world-class toproping

I bet it takes a long time to march out there...

Um yeah... whatever you do don't go out there

it's not the ninjas though, -zombies

Here's another map... it looks like a pretty long wall near half moon. My data shows it to be about 200 feet tall. I'm guessing that ridge is popular to camp on, but who knows, you could maybe rappel down and climb all over it. No idea what it's like.



Turns out, there's a TON of cliffline all over the region. Humongous drainages on the north end of the Red that don't have any publicized trails leading into them. Probably where the bears like to hang.

good stuff. i've found the publicly availalbe gis to be intolerably slow to work with? did you happen to notice any cliffline up along cave run lake? it seemed like there was a possibility on the southeast corner area?

doesn't look like a whole lot... if you give me coordinates i'll make a little map for ya