Determining Peak Altitude on Maps, Books and Cartographic Materials: Multidisciplinary Implications

Abstract

Mountain peaks and their altitude have been of interest to researchers across disciplines. Measurement methods and techniques have changed and developed over the years, leading to more accurate measurements and, consequently, more accurate determination of peak altitudes. This research transpired due to the frequency of misstatements found in existing sources including books, maps, guidebooks and the Internet. Such inaccuracies have the potential to create controversy, especially among peak-baggers in pursuit of climbing the highest summits. The Polish Sudetes Mountains were selected for this study; 24 summits in the 14 mesoregions were measured. Measurements were obtained employing the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and light detection and ranging (LiDAR), both modern and highly precise techniques. Moreover, to determine the accuracy of measurements, several of the summits were measured using a mobile phone as an additional method. We compare GNSS vs. LiDAR and verify the level of confidence of peak heights obtained by automatic methods from LiDAR data alone. The GNSS receiver results showed a discrepancy of approximately 10 m compared with other information sources examined. Findings indicate that the heights of peaks presented in cartographic materials are inaccurate, especially in lesser-known mountain ranges. Furthermore, among all the mountain ranges examined, the results demonstrated that five of the summits were no longer classed as the highest, potentially impacting tourist perceptions and subsequent visitation. Overall, due to the topographical relief characteristics and varying vegetation cover of mountains, we argue that the re-measuring procedure should comprise two steps: (1) develop high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) based on LiDAR; (2) assumed heights should be measured using precise GNSS receivers. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints and the prohibitive costs of GNSS, LiDAR continues to be the most common source of new altitude data.

Pola Interaksi Komunitas Pendaki Gunung Bandung dalam Meningkatkan Perilaku Solidaritas

“…Jika dilihat secara historis belum diketahui dengan jelas darimana awal mulanya mendaki gunung diperkenalkan (Maciuk, 2021;Sridhar, 2021). Beberapa sumber menyatakan bahwa pendakian gunung sudah dimulai bahkan sejak masa prasejarah (Zhou, 2021).…”

The Highest Peaks of the Mountains: Comparing the Use of GNSS, LiDAR Point Clouds, DTMs, Databases, Maps, and Historical Sources

“…For this purpose, we used Polish and Slovak datasets transformed to a uniform altitude system. The research presented in this article is a continuation of the team's research from 2019, 2020, and 2021 [49].…”

“…Korona Gór Polski) and is becoming increasingly popular. However, based on the data from [49], due to serious cartographic misinterpretations, this list has serious errors, not only in terms of altitude, but also in terms of location (wrong indication). A similar implication for tourism can be observed in the case of less prominent mountain ranges.…”

“…A similar implication for tourism can be observed in the case of less prominent mountain ranges. According to the GNSS research conducted by [49], as many as five mountain peaks in the Sudetes lose the title of the highest summit in the range. Other studies highlighted the inaccuracies in lists of this kind on the example of the Europe Country High Points [45].…”