Want to know where to find current maps of Martha’s Vineyard? Ever wonder how maps are made in this digital age? Where does the map information come from? Come to the Chilmark library on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 5 pm to learn the answers from cartographer Chris Seidel. She will introduce us to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s online map library, interactive maps, and data hub.
Seidel has been living on the Island and doing cartography for the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for 16 years. While her undergraduate degree is in terrestrial ecology, a geography elective course sparked her interest with how the movement of everything impacts the movement of everything else. Utilizing the latest GIS (Geographic Information System) technology and other gadgets and gizmos, Seidel strives to create informative, intuitive, and aesthetically pleasing maps. Upon request, she creates maps for any town department within Dukes County. The maps range in topic from trails, development, flooding, and tick distribution to population.