Interactive Maps: State / National Parks & Nature Preserves

Show Visitors Interactive Maps Of State / National Parks & Nature Preserves On Their Smartphone, Computer, Or Within The Visitors Center.

Unmanned Aerial Operations (UAO) knows the benefits of creating an interactive map. Having an aerial high-resolution image / orthomosaic of a State Park / National Park / Nature Preserve with annotations and tags allows for better communication of information by being able to tag certain areas. Tags can include text, images, or even videos. Shown below is an example of this. 

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Overview of Interactive Maps

In this article, we will discuss how interactive maps benefit state and national parks and nature preserves.

A visitor to the local state park needs to know information about trails, tree species, plant species, animal roaming grounds, and amenities and utilities. Often times state and national parks will use ARCGIS to convey this information. In some cases, they may have no map at all.

Better Than The Alternative

For the layman, this can be confusing. People spend college careers learning how to navigate GIS maps. Using these interactive maps, even the newest and most unfamiliar person to using digital maps can easily navigate their way around the information displayed.

Unlike maps found on ARCGIS, these interactive maps use an hi resolution aerial image taken from a scan using our drone mapping technology. This is otherwise known as an orthomosaic. These orthomosaics are high resolution images which are made up of hundreds – thousands of images, which we then insert and tag information such as text, photos, and videos to display and convey information to visitors who may be coming to visit the State Park / National Park / Nature Preserve.

Placement

Shown at the top of the page is a prime example of how these interactive maps can be used to help people better understand the information that needs to be conveyed. This type of information can be presented on the front page of a park website, so it is at the forefront of the information that is shown. Another idea for placement is under a knowlwdge base, or a navigation page.

A huge oppritunity for expressing these interactive maps to visitors, is within the visitors center if the park has one. Having a full size interactive map , as opposed to the interactive map being shown on the visitors phone allows for those with impaired vision to better understand the information being presented. Advertizing this may draw more visitors into the visitors center.

Uses and Effects of Interactive Maps

Having this interactive map for people visiting the park will allow them to plan out their visit better, and understand the area around them.  

Uses showing Risks & Attractions.

On one hand, if someone has an allergy to a specific insect or plant, this information can be included on the map. Showing where certain insects tend to live, and certain plants tend to grow may assist in people with allergies avoiding those areas.

On the flipside, having information via text, photos, and videos may attract certain people to areas of their interest. For example, if visitors prefer to picnic or camp by a creek as opposed to a high overlook, this can be shown to them simply by hovering thr cursor over the annotation tag.

An even better example for more avid and scholarly visitors, is showing certain outcrops / geologic features, endangered species areas, and hydrology features on site. 

Another massive feature of these interactive maps showing historical areas. This feature is used across industries from Historical battlefields to cities to State and National Parks. 

Effects on Visitor Experience

The effects on including interactive maps in your knowledge base or on the front page of your website, or even within the visitors center is extremely useful.

Visitors who may be intimidated by the remoteness or size of a park will have a better understanding of areas of interest, ammenities, and areas to avoid. Including these interactive maps will more than likley raise visitor count to the State Park, National Park or Nature Preserve.

To wrap it all up, we hope you understand value interactive maps bring to better conveying information about a physical place as special as interesting as state and national parks.