Help map the Falkland Islands

Hello,

I'm a member of the OpenStreetMap project [1], and I've made a start at mapping the Falkland Islands. Most of the coastline is done (using data from PGS), and I've started tracing roads. However, I don't know the islands at all, and so could do with some help. If you live in the islands and own a GPS unit, you can help by collecting GPS data and uploading it (see the OSM beginners guide [2]). Even if you don't edit the map yourself, the GPS data can be used by others.

If you don't have a GPS, you might still be able to help answer the following questions:

Roads are currently marked as "unclassified". Is there a classification system in use in the Falklands? Do the roads vary in quality?

As I understand it, most of the settlements outside of Stanley are very small. Are they roughly equivalent to UK villages?

Russ

[1] http://www.openstreetmap.org/
[2] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Begin...

avantman42 wrote:

Hello,
I'm a member of the OpenStreetMap project [1], and I've made a start at mapping the Falkland Islands. Most of the coastline is done (using data from PGS), and I've started tracing roads. However, I don't know the islands at all, and so could do with some help. If you live in the islands and own a GPS unit, you can help by collecting GPS data and uploading it (see the OSM beginners guide [2]). Even if you don't edit the map yourself, the GPS data can be used by others.
If you don't have a GPS, you might still be able to help answer the following questions:
Roads are currently marked as "unclassified". Is there a classification system in use in the Falklands? Do the roads vary in quality?
As I understand it, most of the settlements outside of Stanley are very small. Are they roughly equivalent to UK villages?
Russ
[1] http://www.openstreetmap.org/
[2] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Begin...

I lived at Dunnose Head, West Falkland 1962/1963. Dunnose Head was a minor settlement at the time, and whilst I was there the maximum population was 14 people of whom 6 were children, and 2 were women. There were 3 houses, 2 for families and the Cookhouse for unmarried workers. Of the 14 maximum only 7 were Falkland Islanders, and the rest UK contract workers. There were no roads in Dunnose Head, but rough trackways, some all weather, some summer only. The only constructed parts were a bridge over the stream running into Halfway Creek, and the track exiting the Narrows eastwards which appeared to have been created with explosives up the rock cliff. Only 4 wheel drive and tracked vehicles could use the main route. Most movement was by horseback, and horse tracks could take shorter routes. The only other settlements I had experience of were Chartres, which had upwards of a dozen houses, New Island which I landed at by plane, and seemed about the same as Dunnose Head, and San Salvador which was about the size of Chartres. I have also flown over Port Howard which looked to be slightly larger than Chartres. Looking at recent maps, I can see that a road has been built from Dunnose Head Settlement back to the False Narrows, and a new exit eastwards from the Narrows appears to have been engineered. Many of these features can be seen on Google Earth, which would also give accurate GPS markers.