Sierra Nevada

Snow Cover 2017

20.8"x50.8" | $60.00

The early months of 2017 marked the highest snow cover levels for the Sierra Nevada Range in more than a decade. The snow land cover class on this map was created from Landsat 8 imagery collected between January 1st and March 30th. This data was used to create false-color images that highlight areas of snow that were then extracted and used as a masking layer in photoshop. This map captures the dramatic increase in snow cover while only attempting to portray the breathtaking beauty of the Sierra Nevada.

Cartographic details worth mentioning:
I used a lightened swiss hillshade style relief (thank you Aaron), with isolated light blue shadowing on the areas of snow to give it a little more "frosty-ness". The most difficult part of this map was making sure the snow cover had some textual dimension, instead of just appearing as a white blanket, placed on top of some trees. For this, I added a slight gradient map in photoshop to distinguish snow covered areas at high elevations, versus those at lower elevations. I also included additional texturing in areas where tree cover and snow cover intersected. A lot of hours, tears, love and joy went into this map. Handle it with care and have fun exploring a landscape that's so near and dear to many of our hearts! Feel free to message me with any questions, concerns or updates about this map: nathaniel.ak.douglass@gmail.com

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