View aerial images of favorite state parks from comfort of home

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) website offers many informational features about each of its state parks, including detailed news, brochures, camping area information, events, photographs, fish and wildlife, and direct email. Each of these features may be accessed by clicking "State Parks" at the top of the KDWP home page, then "Locations," and then the park of choice. Icons at the top of individual park pages offer access to all this information and more.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating portals is the "Map" icon. By clicking this, the reader is taken to a conventional map of the state park and surrounding area. Icons on the map show the location of primitive and modern campsites, the park office, playgrounds, shelters, cabins, and other features of the park.

Best of all, the map may be viewed in three formats: conventional ("map"), satellite, and hybrid. The conventional map is like one would see in a brochure of the area, with highways, service icons, the lake, and county roads. The satellite image is a photographic view of the area from high altitude. The hybrid image is the same as the satellite image except that major highways are superimposed on the photograph.

All formats retain the service icons, and viewers may zoom in or out to gain a desired view of the area. In addition, viewers may "grab" the image by holding down on their computer mouse and move the image in the view box, offering a glimpse of the area for several miles around the park.

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Back to September 2006 News