Published since more one decade on emerald-island.eu, Emerald Island GPS Map is now hosted on lemiage.net.
What's inside ?
Emerald Island GPS Map is based on free open data and tools. Data come from MountainViews, OpenstreetMap, megalithomania and USGS.
MountainViews summits
Data are provided by one of the best hillwalking online resources for Ireland. Created by Simon Stewart, MountainViews is the place to begin for enthousiast hillwalkers in Ireland.
OpenStreetMap data
OpenStreetMap is a free open mapping project. Like Wikipedia, anyone can contribute to this great project.
megalithomania
megalithomania - The home of Irish Prehistory - provides some data about Ireland's prehistoric heritage (rock arts, ogham stones, stones, tombs, burials, holy wells, fortifications...).
SRTM data
Elevation layer (contour lines)
Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission data (SRTM) used for the map are the 1 arc-second resolution (i.e. nearly the same as a 30 m grid samples in Europe). Increased resolution does not mean necessarily a better precision.
- With SRTM Void Filled, most of the holes in original data are corrected but not in all cases (e.g. some holes are still present in original cell n54_w009).
- In high areas, contour lines are often at least 10m below the true ground (nevertheless consistent with NASA mission accuracy objectives).
- For very steep ground, the elevation error can increase a lot. For example, around Faha Ridge the loss is nearly 100 m !
What it means for hill walkers, the contour lines will give you a good idea of the terrain around you with an horizontal approximation of 100 - 150 meters and +/-10 to 110 m elevation error. Do not expect to avoid a cliff with your eyes locked on your GPS screen.
A thought about walking in Irish Mountains
Despite their small height, irish mountains are true mountains. Do not underestimate the difficulties. Before to conquer a summit, check the weather and bring with you clothes you will appreciate to wear if bad conditions catch you. Take enough water and food for all members of your party.
Remember you that a GPS receiver is only a secondary way to find your location. Be sure to be able to find your way back home without your GPS (bringing a paper map and a compass may be a good idea).
If you use to walk only on well marked trails, irish mountains may not be well suited for you. The ground can be "a little" wet and slippery, even on a steep ground. Nevertheless few summits have some more or less marked trails (and not all are official).
Keep in mind this rule : bring back with you what you bring in mountains. Nature is fragile, preserve it.
Download links
V2.0.10
- OSM data update 2020/01/24
- MountainViews data update 2020/01/24
- No more dedicated installer for Windows nor MacOS
Known issues:
- routing is broken on BaseCamp but it works on GPS
- shadow artifacts along shores linked with source data
Files for Garmin devices
Put the file in a folder named "Garmin" at the root of your GPS SD card (avoid to use internal memory to avoid any error).
SHA256 : f826812d1a1973c68d7db8fb5f330fe832676d0944ed978cd51e39a0be1a31d9
Files for BaseCamp
Install the data to use with BaseCamp and a Garmin GPS.
SHA256 : ac99bd52fadecadf4e4e5ea6442dac8b8bb8963902f29f7471c0245e6ee2d10b
Support
Why donate ?
Since 2006, Emerald Island GPS Map is available for free because it is built with free data according to their authors and my wish. Garmin GPS devices evolve with new mapping features and I cannot test the map without one. Donations will be used to buy a new Garmin GPS device and, if needed, softwares. Any surplus money will be used to host the website and to support other projects about mapping or for a humanitarian associations.
If you click on the "Donate" button, you will be redirected to a Paypal form.
Warranty disclaimer and software license agreement
(Because some people think if anything goes wrong, someone else should pay for their misfortune)
Definitions
The software refers to all the distributed files that constitute the Emerald Island Map / Emerald Island GPS Map.
Users includes you.
Authors refers to people who contribute to produce data included in the Emerald Island Map and the software itself.
Warranty disclaimer
Users of the software must acknowledge hillwalking is a sport with a risk of personal injury and accept the points made here.
The software is provided as is without warranty on its content and its operation. By downloading it, users acknowledge and agree that :
- users use the software at their own risk for any bad event (including without limitation: injury, death, loss of data, hardware damage, loss of time...),
- authors cannot be held responsible for any bad event in users life.
License
The software includes some open and free data with their own licence. To summarize, the software is for a private usage, it cannot be sold and users are not allowed to make money with it.
OpenStreetMap license
Conditions of use for MountainViews materials
Emerald Island GPS Map is licensed under Creative Commons 