Power Kite Forum

Help with google maps

shaggs2riches - 12-7-2012 at 11:03 PM

Does anyone have an understanding of what the different colors of lakes in google maps satellite mean??? The lake I frequent looks quite dark blue, and a few of others in the area are exceptionally light blue. I'm guessing that it is referring to depth, but not so sure of myself. My plan is to try and get access to some of the other lakes in the area and see how many potential kiting spots I can find. Right now the lake I'm at has a pretty big beach, and is about a mile or better across by my guessing. Best part is no one is ever there so the place is usually all ours when we go.

I go to the big one on the East side only accessed by farm land. :yes:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?ll=52.66566,-109.995289&spn=0...

BeamerBob - 12-7-2012 at 11:25 PM

My vote is that it has to do with the angle of the sun for the photograph. There might also be an effect from water depth but that might not show up on an aerial photo.

Kamikuza - 12-7-2012 at 11:55 PM

What he said. Go and look anyway ... I'd love a big ol' lake that was all chest deep :)

kmsh - 13-7-2012 at 08:44 AM

The lighter colors could also indicate greater amounts of suspended sediments and/or algae.

shaggs2riches - 13-7-2012 at 10:15 PM

Thanks for the thoughts. I can't find a true answer to the question, so I think I will do just that and plan a day and scout them out. The one I go to is an Alkaline lake, so very salty like taste when I get an accidental mouth-full. There are a lot of them around that area and oddly this is the first one that I've found to have a grass like vegetation on the bottom. One thing that has given me the willies is stuff growing on the bottom suddenly touching me.:embarrased: The idea of a nice shallow lake is what has me looking for sure. I don't have my water legs yet and even though I have a floatation aid on while kiting, knowing that I can stand up anywhere would be comforting while I learn. That and the fact that the shallower it is the faster it warms up in the summer.

Kamikuza - 14-7-2012 at 02:46 AM

Yeah, creepy that ... mud that squishes between my toes ooks me out too. So does standing on things that move.

Feyd - 14-7-2012 at 03:56 AM

Shaggs, you guys up there must have something like this....

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/bathy_maps.htm

I don't use it in the summer but it's handy to know where you might want to avoid going through the ice if the ice is questionable. Also for spotting inlets and outlets that you wouldn't know about under the ice.

Feyd - 14-7-2012 at 03:59 AM

Also, I would recommmend using Google Earth instead of Google maps. It's faster and you can mark and note locations.

For snowkite we have roughly 84 locations within a 3hr drive of my house. :smilegrin:

Cerebite - 16-7-2012 at 06:50 PM

There are quite a few factors that go into the color of the water you see in satellite imagery on Google etc not all of which have anything to do with the actual geography of the body of water :o
- images from different dates. What you see on Google can have been collected anytime in the last ten years
- different collection geometry resulting in different light return from the water and with higher accuracy satellites there is a high possibility for bright return or glint [silver/ grey water] which gives no indication of depth.
- Different adjustments in the Dynamic Range [color balance] of the image to adjust it from "as collected" to "natural."
Water is so fickle that it is not considered in the quality control standards when imagery is provided to the customers.

I am not certain but I would think that any body of water with significant depth [c 100 ft] would have bathygraphic [I think that is the word] shading on the chart/ map layer of the mapping utility. This will be color grading or contour lines comparable to elevation mapping.

shaggs2riches - 17-7-2012 at 07:42 PM

Feyd and Cerebite you guys are complete genius. Feyd you gave me the idea to scroll through ice fishing forums to see what I could dig up. I found just that!!!!! Cerebite you were correct about bathygraphic maps. Looking with that word I found this forum thread:

http://www.menoutdoors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4232

it lead me to this Government of Saskatchewan Canada map:

http://gisweb1.serm.gov.sk.ca/imf/imf.jsp?site=bathy

Absolutely incredible!!!!! :wee: Now I have a bookmark link that I can get info on a lot of the lakes I might consider going to. Like someone on that thread said. I need lots of printer ink and a laminator. :yes: Super grateful guys!!!!!

shaggs2riches - 17-7-2012 at 07:59 PM

Sadly though the lake that I go to doesn't have any info on it. I should just take a fish/depth finder and a canoe and take my own recordings. :rolleyes:

Feyd - 18-7-2012 at 02:52 AM

Ha, that figures.

Man, I just looked at your link and holy hell you have a shload of lakes up there. WOW.

shaggs2riches - 18-7-2012 at 11:09 AM

Yeah Saskatchewan has something like 100,000 recorded lakes in it. There are lots that are within a 2 hour drive in any direction. Lloydminster is half in Saskatchewan and half in Alberta so I need to find the same map for Alberta. I'd rather be at the ones with no people though. It's a lot more enjoyable if you don't mind digging your own fire pit and squatting in the bush.

Cerebite - 18-7-2012 at 07:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by shaggs2riches
Feyd and Cerebite you guys are complete genius. Feyd you gave me the idea to scroll through ice fishing forums to see what I could dig up. I found just that!!!!! Cerebite you were correct about bathygraphic maps. Looking with that word I found this forum thread:

http://www.menoutdoors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4232

it lead me to this Government of Saskatchewan Canada map:

http://gisweb1.serm.gov.sk.ca/imf/imf.jsp?site=bathy

Absolutely incredible!!!!! :wee: Now I have a bookmark link that I can get info on a lot of the lakes I might consider going to. Like someone on that thread said. I need lots of printer ink and a laminator. :yes: Super grateful guys!!!!! [/

You are very welcome, can you tell that I have "colored" water professionally for over ten years :wee::singing: