DEVELOPMENT OF USER-FRIENDLY VIRTUAL GEOLOGIC FIELD GUIDES TO THE KENNEBEC HIGHLANDS, CENTRAL MAINE, USA

The goal of this project was the creation of down-loadable virtual geologic field guides on Google Earth for trails in the Kennebec Highlands, located in the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine. The Kennebec Highlands represent the largest public land area in the area, and is utilized for a number of recreational activities such as hiking, camping, fishing, and mountain biking. Via collaboration between the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance, Colby College and the Maine Congress of Lake Associations, trail guides were produced and made available on the Colby website. These virtual geologic field guides can be accessed and utilized on tablets or smartphones by the public to provide them background knowledge and understanding before hiking the trails. The guides were also used to enhance outreach to local middle schools. We plan to generate additional illustrations for fall, winter and spring to insure year-round utility of the files.

Google Earth and arcGIS were used to create these user-friendly applications that can be downloaded at the user’s convenience. Initially, each trail was tracked using a Garmin Oregon 400t GPS unit. The tracks were then converted to .kmz files and applied to Google Earth. Geotagged photos taken along the trails using a Ricoh G700SE GPS camera were used to enhance the tracks and create placemarks in Google Earth. The placemarks were created in notepad, and saved as .kml files so that they could be uploaded into Google Earth. Using arcGIS, bedrock and surficial geology GIS data were uploaded to transfer that information to Google Earth as layers. A generic topographic map of the area was also uploaded so that it can be viewed as a layer.

When the files are accessed, the resultant Google Earth application produces many different layers that can be turned on or off depending on what the viewer is interested in looking at. These layers are in the form of .kml and .kmz files. Placemarks along the hiking trails can be accessed and a picture and short description of a geologic feature will pop up that can be seen along the trail. Along with the layers, a short geologic history of central Maine, as well as other visual aids will be included to help illustrate to the general public how these mountains and features came to exist. A Google Earth flyover was also created to enhance hiker understanding of the topography and geology.