WORKSHEET
Lab 6: Visual Interpretation of Aerial Images / Remote Sensing
Part 1: Image interpretation using Google Earth
Feature
commercial building
(e.g. retail store)
industrial building
(e.g. factory)
Latitude / Longitude
45 degrees 31’ 54” N
122 degrees 33’ 28” W
45 degrees 33’ 59” N
122 degrees 34’ 14” W
(Ventura Foods)
45 degrees 31’ 07” N
122 degrees 33’ 06” W
mobile home park
multi-family residential
(e.g. apartments)
45 degrees 32’ 16” N
122 degrees 33’ 24” W
45 degrees 32’ 05” N
122 degrees 33’ 46” W
unpaved street
open space
45 degrees 32’ 11” N
122 degrees 33’ 43” W
(Greenway Park)
45 degrees 33’ 02” N
122 degrees 32’ 05 W
cultivated land
Lab 6: Image Interpretation
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Interpretation Factor(s)
Shape: Large square/rectangle
Size: Large building
Color: grey/beige, green
Shadow: Small shadows on front and side of
building.
Shape: multiple rectangles
Size: large, smokestacks
Color: Grey, black and white
Shadow: some shadowing due to height of
building.
Texture: smooth
Shape: multiple small rectangles, almost tubular.
Size: small reoccurring buildings/shapes
Color: grey a little blue
Shadow: Various small shadows being casted by
individual homes.
Shape: Tall square building
Size: Fairly large, much larger than single family
home.
Color: grey and white
Shadow: small only present on sides of building
Shape: long tube shape
Size: long and skinny
Color: brown, yellowish color of dirt
Shadow: no shadows present.
Texture: very smooth
Shape: open, large rectangle that tapers into
point.
Size: large open space
Color: bright green (grass)
Shadow: No shadows as there are no buildings or
objects to cast one.
Shape: square and rectangle
Size: fairly large
Color: green, brown, beige, yellowish
Shadow: no shadows
Texture: smooth, lines that show row crops.
Geog 380
school
cemetery
45 degrees 31’ 02” N
122 degrees 33’ 06” W
(Floyd Light Middle)
45 degrees 33’ 35” N
122 degrees 33’ 40” W
(Columbia Cemetery)
45 degrees 35’ 59” N
122 degrees 38’ 33” W
(Columbia Edgewater)
golf course
Lab 6: Image Interpretation
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Shape: irregular rectangle with another rectangle
shooting off side.
Size: large tall building with wide angles.
Color: Almost entirely grey and light black.
Shadow: very little, to no shadow at all
Texture: very smooth
Shape: appears as a rough rhombus
Size: medium sized, not large, but also not small.
Color: entirely green
Shadow: trees are casting a shadow throughout
cemetery.
Texture: rough due to vegetation
Shape: a sharp cut parallelogram missing part of
a side.
Size: Large, lots of green space
Color: lots of green and little beige and grey due
to buildings.
Shadow: lots of shadows casted by trees.
Texture: very smooth due to grass, also a little
grainy from the pattern in grass.
Geog 380
Part 2: Image identification
For each image, answer the following questions:

What is being displayed in the image? (Be as specific as possible—is there water, vegetation, particular
kinds of buildings, etc.)

What is the place shown in the image? (Be specific. That is, don’t just report that you see a “baseball
field”, instead say “Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA”)

What elements of visual interpretation led you to your conclusion? (e.g. shadow, shape, color, context,
etc.)
Image 1
Image: Statue of Liberty, Liberty island, New York
A small manmade island, water surrounding small island, some green space and the
obvious star shape that is under the statue of liberty. I used size, shape and texture to
determine what this image was.
Image 2
Image: Washington, D.C., National Mall
I had some difficulty identifying this image as I have never been to D.C. However, the
largest clues were the long strip of grass (shape, texture, color) that houses some of the
Nation’s most popular monuments. The large river was also a hint. The color and shape
were the most important when identifying this image.
Image 3
Image: St Louis Arch, St. Louis, Missouri
This image displays an area in St. Louis that shows a lot of green space and some urban
sprawl. The most important aspect that led me to the conclusion of this image was the
shadow. The shadow was very important and made it fairly obvious what I was looking at.
Image 4
Image: Downtown Seattle, Space Needle, Seattle, Washington
This image shows downtown Seattle and the Space Needle. Once again, the shadow was
the defining factor, without the shadow it was very difficult to determine what the image
was showing. A lot of dark green space often found in the PNW.
Image 5
Image: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Texas
This was the second hardest image for me to distinguish. I figured out it was a cemetery
pretty quick due to the tombstones. They appeared as tiny squares with white coloring,
their spacing also helped me identify them. I realized it was the Arlington Cemetery when I
paid close attention to the circular dome towards the west side of the image. The seats
texture and white color were the largest clues.
Image 6
Image 7
Image: New York Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
This image shows the Yankee’s stadium in the Bronx. This was fairly easy to determine
because the baseball stadium is huge and easy to distinguish. Secondly, if you zoom in a
tad, you can see the world-famous NY logo the Yankees have used for decades. Little
greenspace, some trees, lots of concrete.
Image: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California
This image displays LAX. I was able to tell based on the largest clue the Pacific Ocean. The
color, bright blue and texture of smooth calm water with small ripples. The rest of the
image displays multiple colors such as beige for sand, grey for driveways and black for
runways.
Lab 6: Image Interpretation
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Geog 380
Image 8
Image: Parthenon, Greece
This was by far the hardest image to identify, because I know very little of how Greece
looks. My main clues however were the color and textures of the dry sands and the ruins,
or buildings that appear in a half circle and rectangles. Their texture was grainy and
misshapen.
Part 3: Image interpretation using NAIP imagery
Q1:
Examine the two images showing Lobster Creek. One image shows the area in 2009, and other
image shows the same area in 2011. In terms of the visual interpretation variables you have
learned about (e.g. color, texture, shape, etc.), describe (but don’t interpret) the changes that
you see between the images.
The amount of green space is different. I notice more areas of brown and yellowish color in the
2011 versus the 2009 image. These spaces of brown/yellow increased from 2-3 in 2009 to 5-7 in
2011. The texture in these areas changes as well as the color. When they were green they
appeared swirly and grainy. When brown they appear more smooth and without swirls.
Q2:
Now interpret the changes that you see between the 2009 and 2011 images of Lobster Creek.
That is, what do you think the visual differences you described in Q1 mean in terms of how the
landscape changed between 2009 and 2011.
In my opinion, I believe clear cutting, or logging is the culprit for these changes.
Q3:
Both the 2009 and 2011 natural color images of Upper Klamath Lake show areas with a lightgreenish, swirly texture. How do you interpret this?
I interpret this as some type of algae or bacteria that is living within the water. This mixing
with the water is creating this swirly affect.
Q4:
In the natural color version of the 2011 image, the lighter-green areas with swirly texture have
expanded to cover almost the entire lake. In the NIR version of the 2011 image, these swirly
areas appear bright red in the southern and northern parts of the lake. How do you interpret
this?
After reading this question and analyzing the infrared swirls, I would interpret this as
temperature change within the lake. The red swirls show something that is of higher
temperature then the rest of the water.
Q5:
In the NIR version of the 2011 image, the swirly texture in the western part of the lake does not
appear bright red. How do you interpret this?
I am assuming that this portion of the lake is a different temperature then the eastern portion
with bright red swirls. This area likely holds a cooler temperature then the eastern portion.
Lab 6: Image Interpretation
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Geog 380