Stony Creek Map - Points of Interest/Land Use

 

Google My Maps Review

Using Google My Maps to create a boundary of a study area with different layers was relatively easy. Creating the outline of the study area using the "draw a line" tool worked well, except, that if your study area is relatively large there seems to not be a way to move the map while still drawing a line. Creating points of interest (POI) was also easy to do. You can enter GPS coordinates of the POI or search the address to do so. I chose to add an additional layer titled Land Use. This layer was also created using the "draw a line" tool. A specific color was added to each different land use area to identify agricultural use, industrial use, and urban/residential use. I would change the ability to turn off road numbers and other POI that are already present on the base maps, as the maps can become quite busy and distracting with these turned on. In overview this is a great free map making tool that can be used by novices or the experienced cartographer.