GIS Map Gallery: March 2003 3-Dimensional Perspective of Burkes
Garden - Tazewell County, Virginia The map of the month for
March 2003 is Burkes Garden, Tazewell County, Virginia. In the
foreground is Chestnut Ridge overlooking into the valley formed
by the bowl-shaped Garden Mountain. At an elevation of 3,100
feet, Burkes Garden is often referred to as the "highest valley
in Virginia". The southeastern rim of the valley, shown on the
right side of the map, serves as the political boundary between
Tazewell and Bland counties and is also part of the Appalachian
National Scenic Trail. The map's three-dimensional effects were
produced using ESRI ArcScene software. Several data layers were
used in the construction of this map. Color infrared aerial
photographs, called DOQQs, were draped over elevation data. A
seam, created by DOQQ images acquired at different dates or with
different methods, can be seen running diagonally (north-south)
through the map. Red areas represents healthy vegetation in
color-infrared ima