BRINGING THE HIGHLANDS HOME: CREATING A VIRTUAL FIELD GUIDE TO THE KENNEBEC HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL MAINE (USA)

The goal of this project is the development of an online geologic field guide to the Kennebec Highlands, in the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine. The Kennebec Highlands represent the largest public land area in the region, and is utilized for a number of recreational activities such as hiking, camping, fishing, and mountain biking. During geologic research on the five popular hiking trails in the highlands that possess interesting geologic features, a collaborative effort between the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance was developed to produce a virtual field guide of the area. The resulting Google Earth files can be utilized by the public to give them background knowledge and understanding before and during the hiking of the trails. Furthermore, it is planned to make the product accessible in multiple formats, available in both virtual and hard copy format.

Google Earth and computer software such as arcGIS were utilized to create a user-friendly application that can be downloaded from multiple websites and can be accessed at the users convenience. Each of the trails was initially tracked using a Garmin Oregon 400t GPS unit. These 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. These placemarks were created in notepad, and saved as .kml files so that they could be uploaded onto Google Earth. Using arcGIS, bedrock and surficial geology GIS data were uploaded to transfer that information over 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 particular geologic feature on the trail will pop up for reading and viewing. 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.