| Flagstaff Atlas Photographic Tour |
| This addition to the Flagstaff Atlas links ground photos to various images generated using the satellite and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data. Its main purpose is to serve as an additional visualization aid to the satellite data, and to help demonstrate what the satellite and DEM data are showing. The slides also help show the geographic setting of the Flagstaff region, as seen from the ground. A variety of ground photos from around the Flagstaff region are presented here. Each one is accompanied by a birds' eye view showing the area in the photo. Simply click on the  Satellite icon to see the view from space, click on the  Camera icon to return to the ground photo, and click the  magnifying glass (Zoom Out icon) to return to the overview of the specific area. |  The satellite images have special labels to help orient you between the ground and spaceborne photos:
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| Flagstaff Regional Photographic Tour:
Click inside the squares to zoom in on the satellite/photographic tour of that area. Photos are approximately 620 x 400, and may be in excess of 200kb in size. Satellite images may be as large as 620 x 850, and in excess of 300kb. Fully maximize browser's window for optimal viewing. |  Back to the Flagstaff Atlas |
![[Clickable image map: click an area to start the tour!]](main.gif) |
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Three types of bird's eye views are used in this tour:| Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) Satellite | This satellite 'takes a picture' of a region with one picture element or pixel (the smallest element of an image) representing approximately a 30 by 30 meter area (this is referred to as the resolution of the image). It takes a picture not only using visible colors (blue-green, green, and red), but also four other colors (spectral bands -- near-infrared, two mid-infrareds, and thermal). Landsat TM images contain information that help scientists detect and map information about the Earth's surface, including pollution, soil types (rock, clay, etc.), and vegetation types. The Landsat TM satellite orbits the Earth at an altitude of approximately 705 km (438 miles), and covers most of the Earth every 16 days. |
| SPOT Earth Observation System | The French SPOT satellite system collects an image at a resolution of either 10 or 20 meters in black and white or multispectral (color) mode. It is capable of collecting stereo pair images by recording one image looking straight down (nadir look), and a second image on a different orbit looking to the side (off-nadir look). Because of its higher spatial resolution, SPOT images have more ground detail than Landsat TM data; however, Landsat TM data have more spectral (color) detail. Therefore, the two data sets can be digtially combined to take advantage of the complementary information. The SPOT satellite orbits the Earth at 832 km (517 miles), and covers most of the Earth every 26 days. |
| Digital Elevation Model (DEM) | A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is a representation of the topography/elevation of an area. One nice aspect of working with DEM data is that they 'strip' away both man made features and the effect of vegetation and soil types, and show the surface strictly from a topographic/elevation point of view. DEMs can be color-coded to show ranges in elevation in different colors. Sun-like shading can be added to a DEM, creating a shaded relief image that shows what the topographic landscape of the area looks like. |
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