Lab 1A

Map #1: Acton -- my morning commute

This map (from maps.google.com, where 1 inch = 2 miles) includes my home at the top right hand corner. It includes the major freeways I use and some minor geographic features of the area. I normally commute every Monday and Wednesday to UCLA from this location in Acton, if I'm not staying at my aunt's house. On those days my mental map expands to include this radius from the outer reaches of LA County to Westwood, or Hollywood, where I work Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Growing up in a location where I had to drive quite a distance to go to school, and growing up with a mother and a father that commuted every day to Downtown LA and Edwards AFB, respectively, caused me to develop a large mental database of geographic knowledge. Driving large distances were never a big deal to me, so I continued to expand my knowledge of Southern California as I drove to different places of work and social engagements as far south as San Diego (where my family is from originally) and as far north as Santa Barbara almost on a weekly basis. Therefore, I find that I might have justification in saying 'freeways are my forte' and I consider all of Southern California 'my playground.'

Map #2: Westwood/West LA

This map (from maps.google.com, where 1 inch = 2000 ft) centers on the address of my old apartment (northernmost red box) in Westwood and is enlarged to incorporate Westwood and parts of Mar Vista that I visit often. It is mainly limited to streets and the 405 freeway, with a little information about UCLA, the LA National Cemetary and the Los Angeles Country Club). It includes my Aunt's house (southern red box) and my cousins' preschool that I drive to every day after class when I pick them up. This mental map is part of my daily commute and I know the microscope details of this area down to the residential streets.

Map #3: Historical Map of El Camino Real

This map is taken from the California Historical Society Collection, and is part of the USC Digital Archive. Titled "California Antigua y Nueva," it was drawn in 1787 and only really features important mountains, rivers and of course the "El Camino Real" or "Kings Highway" that connected the California Missions. This map shows the very limited geographic knowledge of California in 1787 in comparison to the extremely detailed maps I included above (which are dynamic and can become almost as detailed as a person wishes Google to make them). This map is static, includes some latitude and longitude, and stops around Mission San Gabriel. I was unable to find a key, but the minuted rulers on the edges of the map help to preserve the scale. I found it incredible interesting to see the disparity in information between this map and the modern dynamic maps we have available to us through the internet today. This map is on a very small scale and would probably have been used for more general information such as looking at the distance between missions, etc, rather than travel routes because it wouldn't have been very useful as a guide. It was probably hung in a Bishop's office or used by a Spanish Governor of California or something of the sort. Information this general, that included a view of all of California, would only have been needed by someone in high office that oversaw a large amount of regional activity.