OCR Text |
Show Sunday, November 6, 1988 THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, Page 59 Travel Making accurate maps a nearly impossible task latitudes and cause shearing and stretching along the outer By JOY ASCHENBACH National Geographic - WASHINGTON On longitudinal lines. many A compromise projection, patented in 1904 by Alphons van der Grinten of Chicago, world maps, the Soviet Union is bigger than the continent of Africa. South America is smaller than Europe. The state of Alaska is about the same size as the world's st : : fifth-large- allows some size distortion to improve general shapes. In the high latitudes it avoids both Mercator's extreme exaggerations of size and Mollweide's . country, Brazil. The island of Greenland is double the size of the Australia. In the real world, none of the above is true. South America, for example, is almost twice as big as Europe, and Greenland is less than a third the size of Australia. The centuries-ol- d challenge of mapping the round Earth on a flat surface of peeling the skin off the globe and forcing it to lie flat cannot be met without some distortion in size, shape, distance or direction. The larger the area to be covered, the greater the distortion. t"The world's the toughest problem of all," says the recognized dean of academic cartographers in America, Arthur It Robinson of the University b Wisconsin. "The question is: How do you manipulate the dKtortion?" island-contine- extreme compressing and shearing. But the Soviet Union and Canada show up zi more than twice their relative size. nt 't : , ft Another rY size-and-sha- pe , Greenland appears somewhat compressed, its area exaggeration is considerlthough ably less. Mapping the world as it really is "is mathematically im-- . possible," explains Snyder. The Robinson projection comes close, according to Snyder and John B. Garver Jr., chief cartographer of the National Geographic Society, which recently switched from the Van der Grinten to the Robinson pro-- : jection for all its world maps...; "It's a more realistic view of. the world," says Garver. of size and shape are the most reasonable." ( -- .Potentially, the number of the projections cartographic system for transforming the Earth's rounded surface onto a flat one is infinite. Actually,, more than world-ma- Cartographer Arthur Robinson points to a map he designed to be used by National Geographic. p identifiable projections provide a bizarre global persome of them even spective down." Still the most popular world map is the rectangular projection devised more than four ; centuries ago by Flemish used significantly. These projections appear in almost every imaginable form, from the traditional circle, oval and rectangle to the star, heart and even butterfly shape. To preserve relative sizes and shapes, some split the world into quarters. Others during the great period of world exploration. Any straight line on Mercator's world map is a line of constant true bearing, enabling mariners to plot a straight-lin- e course between turning the world "upside have been produced, Robinson says, with about a hundred 200 compromise, produced by Arthur H. Robinson in 1963, cuts some bigger countries down to size, providing a better balance between distortion. A- any two points. Although a boon to navigators, it fails as a world reference map, says John P. Snyder, chairman of the American geographer Gerardus Merca-to- r. It has endured as a general reference map, although that was not its purpose. Mercator introduced his projection in 1569 as an aid to navigation on the high seas Cartographic Association's committee on map projections. In higher latitudes, the Mercator projection distorts large shapes and greatly exaggerates the size of landmasses. It inaccurately depicts the distances between Paris and Chicago and between Moscow and Beijing as greater than the distance between Africa's western and easternmost tips. "We have a highly biased Mercator image of the world," says Robinson. "Other maps simply don't look right" Once a favorite in classrooms, the Mercator is the backdrop for network televi sion newscasts and for news briefings at agencies such as the U.S. State and Defense departments. "It conditions us," says Snyder. "People don't realize Greenland is not really as large as South America." Equal-are-a projections, such as the Mollweide, produced by a German mathematician in 1805, depict all regions of the Earth in correct relative size. But most compress, elongate or warp lands in the higher The Robinson projection,, Garver explains, also does not espouse any special viewpoint: Some maps propagandize, such as today's projec-- . to seeks which promote, tion, Third World recognition. The, projection shows the landmass-- ; es in their true relative sizes,' greatly elongating some, shapes. They look, says Robinson,, like "wet, long, ragged winter; underwear hanging on the Arc. tic Circle to dry." Gall-Pete- rs Bryce begins Komodo Dragons pose little threat to people By MERCER CROSS - i adding, "I believe you could whistle and teach them to come." cious carnivores, fiercest ; 'hzards known, This is unjust Komodos Before the Komodos arrived, Marcellini checked out the lizards' habitat on the inaccessible, waterless and inhospitable island of Komodo, one of only four islands on which the endangered creatures live. He estimates their total number man-eater- s. are indeed the world's larg-:elizards, sometimes 10 feet ; long and weighing more : than 200 pounds. They have "scaly hides, sharp claws,, and long, forked, yellow tongues mat dart from cavernous mouths filled with : ripsaw teeth. And carnivores they are, feeding not only on carrion ; but on living goats, deer ; and wild pigs on their native Lesser Sunda Islands in st at about 5,000. . They've been around for some 60 million years, considerably less time than iguanas, living on islands "where nobody's bothered them for eons, so they don't run away from humans," says Marcellini. "Even in the wilds, they just sort of hang around." Indonesia. : But Dale Marcellini, curator of the National Zoo here, in- -: ; knows of only three stances of human deaths as--: sociated with Komodos. ' : In one, a dragon smelled : the food of picnicking Ind- r Vx ' J In captivity, Komodos are always a star attraction because of their rarity and legendary reputation. The onesian villagers, charged them and bit a child on the ; leg. The child bled to death. I ' A second fatality occurred ; when an island resident cor-- : nered a Komodo that turned : on him and bit him. The : man died of an infection a few days later. The drag- ons' mouths are aflow with virulent bacteria. ' ; : Only in the third case is there suspicion that a drag-- j on ate its victim. As two ' young tourists wandered - into the brush, a Komodo T reportedly leaped out of hid--: ing, grabbed one and disem- - are becoming They says. tame in captivity, he says, National Geographic ; WASHINGTON Komodo dragons have quite a repu- tation to live up to: fero-- National Zoo acquisition fills : A pair of nine-fo- ot Komodo Dragons advance on rotten bait on an Indonesian island. boweled him. But people shouldn't feel threatened by Komodos, Marcellini says, because they are among the calmest of lizards and even share some traits with family dogs. "They basically leave you alone," he told National "Even on the island, they act like you're not part of their normal Geographic. diet." Humans are usually so noisy and obvious they have Utile to fear from Komodos which are predators," he adds. "But I suppose if you were going down a trail and one of them mistook you for a small pig or something, it might unwittingly leap out and grab you." Since May, the National Zoo has been the home of "sit-and-w- the only two Komodo dragons in North America. The young pair, a 6 male, Friendty, and a 4 12-fo- ot a void left when North America's last Komodo dragon, an aging female, died at the San Diego Zoo in 1987. The last one at the National Zoo died in 1975. winter schedule Bryce Canyon National Park' is now on its winter schedule,-accordinto Park SuperintendBob ent, Reynolds. The park is open every day of the year. The visitor center will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except for Christmas Day. Reynolds said the pleasant fall days are excellent for extended hiking and exploring the park trails. Once the snow, flies, there will be opportuni-- 1 ties for cross country skiing ; and snowshoeing in addition to the more traditional sightsee-ing. Starting Nov. 1, the park's auditorium and exhibit room,; will be closed for a complete . renovation. ;; - ( (IBEIITBDtZiliEB Filling Fast! ROSE PARADE SENIOR CITIZENS SPECIAL Dec. PARADE Dec. 10H from the Indonesian president. Their menu: dead rats and chicks. "They may act sort of e in terms of hanging around you and wondering whether you're going to feed them or not," Marcellini dog-lik- has ever been born in this country, but Friendty and Sabat may make history. They've been seen mating, and National Zoo officials hope the first Komodos ca will emerge from Sabat's eggs. Utah is a biker's paradise, particularly in the spring and fall wehn temperatres are coller. The state has miles and miles of :MONTICELLO hiking trails that snake through some of the most fascinating landscapes on earth. Two of them are within miles of each other in southeastern Utah, the Grand Gulch and Dark Canyon primitive areas. And as their "primin-tive- " status implies, & sense of total wilderness comes easy. Dark Canyon gets its name from the walls and ridges, 1,400-fehigh near LAKe et Powell, that keep the sun from lighting the trail below. The upper reaches of the canyon are side with many meadows. But lower Dark Canyon, the part that is officially primitve, is deep and narrow and "truly unique with clear deep plunge pools and waterfalls,' said Alex Vanhmert, Outdoor Recreation Specialist with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). "It's a nice place to hike," he said. "Most people go for the ruggedness. It's not a slickrock canyon. It has more slopes and ledges smooth, . tras-ilhea- d. From there, the trail drops down mote than 1,000 feet in less than a mile and connects to trails going up and downstream in the canyon. There is good, flowing water along most of the trails, but Vanhemert recommends treating it before use. Many people carry in their own supplies. Traveling? GALL 221-011- 1 The Yellow Pages left U3 out of their listings. But we're still here after serving you for 27 years. for Seniors CITIZENS the MONTH of NOVEMBER Nov. $155 (Reg. $175) 25-2- 7 LAS VEGAS SPEC! Nov. 1 FESTIVAL Bus, hotel, (Reg. $89) me'a & more! DECEMBER OF TREES 129S Dec. 2 (Salt Palace) i snacki. Bui, Adm., Tempi Square lights SAN FRANCISCp Dec. 0 $299 (Reg. $369) NEW ORLEANS MARDI GRAS Feb. $595 4-- S Wow! Parades, dinner, lun. Party tour of the year) Enjoy The Fun! BYUAIR FORCE FOOTBALL $100' 11-1- 3 HAWAII DDSopot Travel UDS ICft OUt! $569 4 FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS at Lake Powell Jan. like the Grand Canyon." The Sundance Trail is the primary access route into the lower part of Dark Canyon. The BLM's Dark Canyone Wilderness Trail Guide provides excellent directions to the ROSE BOWL & 30-Ja- n. rs Nov. Hiking opportunities abound for Senior DISCOUNT No Komodo made-in-Ameri- 459 4 28-Ja- n. PARADE 10 SAN DIEGO & DISCOUNT Dec. 299 3 30-Ja- n. 12-fo- ot female, Sabat, are gifts 10-2- (Four Islands) 4 It's warm n wonderful! $1495 ORLANDOEPCQT Days Air, hotel, car 3S4 MEXICO CRUISE S Days SAVE $500. Airfare Freel HAWAII Days Air, Hotel, Extras $799 '469 mas. IS 1160 So. State Orem . Bff QIJ(OIO) |