From "Atlas of Hawaii"
Almost every page in the new book
has an informational computer graphic.
At last! At last!
A new
Hawaii atlas
Last issued in 1984, the
By Burl Burlingame
update was overdue
Star-BulletinAtlas of Hawaii University of Hawaii Press; 333 pages; $49.95 softcover $79.95 hardcover
AS far as we know, ancient Hawaiians had little use for mapping. They already knew where they were. But when Capt. Cook ran across the islands, practically the first thing he did was take his bearings and start drawing.
Ever since, Hawaii has been a mapreader's paradise and a mapmaker's nightmare. All those changing beaches, inaccessible valleysides, shifting populations, agricultural fads -- the only constant in Hawaii is change. Which helps explain why the last edition of the must-have reference "Atlas of Hawaii" came out 15 years ago. Updating Hawaii's slippery data is like nailing Jell-O to the wall.
"Generally, an atlas is produced about three years after a census, but we didn't even start working on this edition until late 1994," said Thomas Paradise of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, the book's chief cartographer and an assistant professor of geography. The atlas was edited by geography professors Sonia P. Juvik and James O. Juvik, also of UHH.
The book is more detailed and more lavishly illustrated than the last edition, covering fields such as generically detailed maps, descriptions of the physical environment, plants and animals, cultural networks, descriptions of the government and the economy and much more.
Nearly every page features an easy-to-understand informational graphic. Different maps and graphics show the average annual solar radiation intensity, even the influence of El Nino on Honolulu winter rainfall.
The real difference between this edition and the last edition is computers. In the deep, dark, early '80s, data was kept on paper and maps were drawn by hand.
"The process of the work hasn't changed, although being able to modify that work sure has," said Paradise. "Computers meant a radical change in updating information. Once you have the parameters entered in and designed for your project, it's just a matter of entering new numbers and compiling the new data."
Everything in the new Atlas was created from scratch, said Paradise. Now it's there, though, an edition using census data from the year 2000 can be produced fairly quickly. "A real simple task. Even in this one, a lot of information is only a year or so old," said Paradise.
Another change is being able to draw on Global Information Systems data, or GIS, a computer information bank of data used by urban planners. The trick is translating it.
"There's a term we use -- cognitive efficacy," said Paradise. "Basically, it means, can you understand what you're looking at? GIS data is so dense only GIS experts can decipher it. So we spent a lot of time creating data in GIS and then translating it in graphic form."
Which is why cartography is considered both an art and a science. It deals in reality, and gives insight into the unknowable.
Whether you're "drawing with a computer or a pen, it's pretty much the same thing. It's a tool. What the computer does differently is organize information. With so much information it's hard keeping track, and so you train your computer to do it for you."
Organized and created on computers, the book is essentially a hard-copy print-out of the project. "We've discussed putting it out also on CD-ROM; it wouldn't be that hard to do now that the information is coded," said Paradise.
Computers included Macintoshes and PCs. "It used to be more of a problem sharing files, but nowadays they work together quite well," said Paradise. "Essentially, the data was transformed into graphic format by AutoCAD -- the workhorse program for cartographers -- then exported to Freehand or Illustrator for fine-tuning, and laid out in either Quark or PageMaker. Shaded relief maps were 'airbrushed' in PhotoShop."
You can't just update old maps. Hawaii is one of the few places in the world where the shape of the landmass changes. Acres of new land have been added to the Big Island courtesy lava flows since the last atlas was released.
"Luckily, we were able to run up to the Hawaii Volcano Observatory to get absolute updates," said Paradise.
'Atlas of Hawaii'
book signingWhen and Where: 1:30 p.m. Dec. 5, Borders Hilo; noon Dec. 7, UH Hilo bookstore; noon Dec. 8, Basically Books
