Rock map of the Yellow River (Huang He) expedition, China, 1925-1927 : Sheet 2

This layer is part of a set of georeferenced, raster images of the manuscript, paper map set entitled: Ch'ing-Hai upper Yellow River expedition : Rock and Simpson, 1925-27, [cartography by J.F. Rock]. Scale 1:250,000. This layer image is of Sheet II [of 10] covering a portion of the Yellow River (Huang He) region in eastern Qinghai Sheng and southern Gansu Sheng, China. The map set details the route and surrounding environs of the Arnold Arboretum's "Western China" expedition led by Joseph Rock, 1924-1927. The set covers a portion of the Yellow River (Huang He) region in south central China (Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan shengs (a portion of historic Tibet)). It shows features, labeled variously in English, Chinese, Wade-Giles transliteration, and Tibetan, including: rivers, streams, lakes, mountains, gorges, valleys, plateaus, plains, cities, towns, villages, provincial capitals, county seats, passes, monasteries, ruin sites, native tribe locations, and more. Relief is shown by hachures, spot heights, and landform drawings. The original manuscript map set is part of the Harvard College Library, Harvard Map Collection. "Joseph Rock traced his travels for the [Arnold] Arboretum's [Western China] 1924-1927 expedition in a colorful, hand-drawn map entitled 'Ch'ing-Hai upper Yellow River expedition.' The pen-and-ink drawing was made on ten sheets that when joined form a single, irregularly-shaped map, approximately six by eight feet in size. The individual sheets are numbered, using roman numerals; on sheet VII is a second title, 'Choni Territory, Upper and Lower T'ieh-Pu country and route to Sung-Pan, J. F. Rock, 1925-1927.' Topographical and other features are identified using a combination of English, Chinese characters, Wade-Giles transliterations and Tibetan script. Rock's attractive cursive style and use of hachures, spot heights, and landform drawings to depict relief add character to the map." -- Text from the Arnold Arboretum Web site.

Historic paper maps can provide an excellent view of the changes that have occurred in the cultural and physical landscape. The wide range of information provided on these maps make them useful in the study of historic geography, and urban and rural land use change. As this map has been georeferenced, it can be used in a GIS as a source or background layer in conjunction with other GIS data.

"The first director of the [Arnold] Arboretum, Charles S. Sargent, sent plant explorers to Asia throughout his fifty-year tenure, and it was he who initiated Joseph Rock's expedition in 1924. The Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, seeking to acquire bird specimens from this area, cooperated in the project. Sargent directed Rock to collect and photograph plants and the landscape along the Yellow River (Huang He) and in two mountain ranges, the Amne Machin (Jishi Shan) and the Richthofen (Qilian Shan). Rock also collected along the Yangtze River, at the Gansu-Sichuan border, in the Tebbu region of southwestern Gansu, and around the Koko Nor (Qinghai Lake) in northeastern Tibet. The three-year expedition resulted in more than 20,000 herbarium specimens, over 1,000 bird specimens, several hundred packets of seeds, 653 photographs, and a correspondence between Rock and Sargent that exceeded 300 letters and telegrams." -- Text from Arnold Arboretum Web site.

ground condition.

map.

Sheet II of X.

None.

The georeferenced raster is a faithfully reproduced digital image of the original source manuscript map. Some differences may be detected between the source graphic used and the raster image due to the RGB values assigned that particular color. The intent is to recreate those colors as near as possible. None. Data completeness for raster digital image files reflect content of the source graphic. Features may have been eliminated or generalized on the source graphic due to scale and legibility constraints. The horizontal positional accuracy of a raster image is approximately the same as the accuracy of the source map. The lack of a greater accuracy is largely the result of the inaccuracies with the original measurements and possible distortions in the original paper map document. Intended scale of these maps was sketched at 1:250,000, but this varies in actuality depending on its spatial accuracy. It should also be noted that the longitude, latitude grid lines that appear on these maps are spatially inaccurate. There may also be errors introduced during the digitizing and georeferencing process. In most cases, errors in the raster image are small compared with sources of error in the original map graphic. The RMS error for this map is 0.06847 decimal degrees RMS error. This value describes how consistent the transformation is between the different control points (links). The RMS error is only an assessment of the accuracy of the transformation.

Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.0 (Build 2195) Service Pack 4; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.1.0.722.

Not applicable.