Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

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Eli Boardman
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by Eli Boardman »

I spent way too much time making this, but here's what a LiDAR version of the 7.5-minute topo map would look like in the vicinity of Miriam Peak, the new Wyoming 13er. Note the super-tiny 13,120 ft. contour right at the summit, which is still 16 ft. below the spot elevation:
MiriamPeakMap.jpg
MiriamPeakMap.jpg (254.03 KiB) Viewed 4088 times
13120contour.JPG
13120contour.JPG (144.8 KiB) Viewed 4087 times
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by bdloftin77 »

Eli Boardman wrote: Thu Dec 30, 2021 8:59 pm Checked a few peaks just for fun today...and I think I found a couple new peaks in the Cirque of the Towers in the southern Winds.

Overhanging Tower went from 264 ft. of prominence to 312 ft., and I'm pretty confident in this one.

Sharks Nose only has 129 ft. of prominence on the map, but it has a crazy sharp col with Watch Tower, and I <think> it has at least 303 ft. of prominence, potentially more. There's a LiDAR shadow right in the col area, and I tried to find the lowest path around one side of the blank area...but adjacent points differ by as much as several meters, so it's a bit tricky. I'd appreciate it if someone else would be able to take a look at this peak and see what they come up with independently.
Nice! I'll take a look at some of your findings over the next week and see what I get so we can compare notes.
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by wyoming-wanderer »

Very cool info! I’ve been bagging several peaks in Colorado but recently moved to Wyoming and I’m excited to explore my new state. I haven’t posted any of my claims but when I get some time I’ll upload, love the site and the people :horns:
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by RyanSchilling »

Eli Boardman wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 8:14 pm I spent way too much time making this, but here's what a LiDAR version of the 7.5-minute topo map would look like in the vicinity of Miriam Peak, the new Wyoming 13er. Note the super-tiny 13,120 ft. contour right at the summit, which is still 16 ft. below the spot elevation:

MiriamPeakMap.jpg

13120contour.JPG
This is really impressive -- amazing work!

I wonder if the USGS would publish something like this down the road?
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by bdloftin77 »

RyanSchilling wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 12:31 pm
Eli Boardman wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 8:14 pm I spent way too much time making this, but here's what a LiDAR version of the 7.5-minute topo map would look like in the vicinity of Miriam Peak, the new Wyoming 13er. Note the super-tiny 13,120 ft. contour right at the summit, which is still 16 ft. below the spot elevation:

MiriamPeakMap.jpg

13120contour.JPG
This is really impressive -- amazing work!

I wonder if the USGS would publish something like this down the road?
Finally took a closer look at this. Wow, this is amazing! Even added the glacial contour lines, too!

Wanna update all 1800 Colorado quads with lidar ones? ;) Cool stuff!
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by Teresa Gergen »

Seriously, I don't know why all you brilliant people aren't banding together to get a large grant from the USGS to do this work and make it official. Which kind of begs the question, does anyone know if the USGS is doing the exact same work already, which would then be the official version?
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by Scott P »

Teresa Gergen wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 1:42 pm Which kind of begs the question, does anyone know if the USGS is doing the exact same work already, which would then be the official version?
Doubtful. The USGS does update new buildings, roads, etc., but in recent decades not elevations or contours.
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by bdloftin77 »

Scott P wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:00 pm
Teresa Gergen wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 1:42 pm Which kind of begs the question, does anyone know if the USGS is doing the exact same work already, which would then be the official version?
Doubtful. The USGS does update new buildings, roads, etc., but in recent decades not elevations or contours.
I just sent an email to 3DEP@usgs.gov asking if they are planning on updating their 7.5' quads (as well as their official mountain elevations) with new lidar data that's coming out.
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by Scott P »

bdloftin77 wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:03 pm (as well as their official mountain elevations) with new lidar data that's coming out.
I'm betting the answer is no.

Anyway, I wasn't aware that there were any official mountain elevations other than BMs. A lot of the different scale USGS maps (plus Forest Service and BLM maps) use conflicting elevations.
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by Eli Boardman »

Thanks, I'm glad that people are enjoying the tutorial (and maps!). I don't think I can make a tutorial for the mapping process sadly--just too many variables, and getting a workable product is tricky. If anyone is particularly inclined to try making maps from las files though, take a look at the Fusion LiDAR toolbox (including the QGIS plugin).
Teresa Gergen wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 1:42 pm Seriously, I don't know why all you brilliant people aren't banding together to get a large grant from the USGS to do this work and make it official. Which kind of begs the question, does anyone know if the USGS is doing the exact same work already, which would then be the official version?
I think they kind of are doing this, albeit in the form of DEMs, not topo maps. As much as this will offend most hikers, topo maps are basically obsolete as a publishable data format ever since the widespread adoption of DEMs (or DTMs if we're being more exact). Topos are still useful to display and interpret data, but the information itself is best disseminated as a gridded raster of elevation values since this preserves so much more detail. The point of the USGS 3DEP program is to make high-resolution DTMs for the entire country, which in my opinion is basically the modern equivalent of the topo lines on the 7.5-minute quadrangles. I suspect that private groups (ESRI, maybe Caltopo, etc.) will eventually pick up the ball and convert these DTMs into hiker-friendly updated topo maps, though there might not be much demand since the existing topos are good enough for 99.9% of outdoor recreation.
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by bdloftin77 »

Wyoming peaks are on the lidar page! (Other States section near the bottom)
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Re: Wyoming LiDAR Findings (New WY 13er!)

Post by Eli Boardman »

I just finished processing most of the soft-ranked Teton peaks. There were a lot of minor summits included in this list since the contour uncertainty is so high (80 ft. contours in the Tetons--that's some steep terrain!). The only changes in ranked status are as follows:

The Wigwams North is ranked and higher than the Wigwams South (previously soft-ranked).
UN Point 10650 is also ranked.
East Horn near Mount Moran is demoted.

I also checked a few things that pertain to the 12ers/13ers list, but there were no surprises. Mount Owen is not a 13er, The Enclosure is far from being ranked, UN Point 12040 and Thor Peak are both ranked. I previously checked that the Grand Teton is indeed substantially lower than Gannett Peak, but haven't looked at the saddles for those, so they won't be in the LoJ list for now.

Edit: all of the Wind River peaks above 11k are also finished and now posted. There are 11 newly ranked peaks in the latest update (all unnamed) including some 10ers, 11ers, and 12ers.
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