GPS: It’s Fun and Educational

Image showing IGS seal and the words Indiana Geological Survey, a research institute of Indiana University. Click to go to the home page.

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GPS: It’s Fun and Educational

by Denver Harper

Photo showing corn field near Rensselaer, Indiana.
The confluence of latitude 41° North and longitude 87° West is in a corn field near Rensselaer, Indiana.
Photo Copyright © Rick Smeltzer; used with permission.

Degree Confluence Project

Have you ever wondered what Burkina Faso (13°N 3°W) looks like in January? Perhaps you’re planning a trip to Qyzl Auyl, Kazakhstan (51°N 81°E). The objective of the Degree Confluence Project is to visit and photograph every intersection of integer latitude and longitude on the terrestrial globe. All you need to participate in this quirky volunteer effort is a GPS unit, a camera, and a ticket to an exotic locale.

And by the way, there really is a lot of corn in Indiana (38° to 42°N, 85° to 88°W).

California Coastal Records Project

Another unusual project by people with GPS units is the California Coastal Records Project. At this site, visitors can view more than 12,000 photographs (taken from a helicopter) of the California coastline, from the Oregon border (photo 7034) to the Mexican border (photo 10114).

Other Sites

If you are interested in GPS, you might also want to check out GPS at the Smithsonian, Geocaching, and The GIS 2 GPS Portal.