Be Cool Maps

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Be Cool Maps

This is my personal project, where I share my passion for making maps. For commissions, send me a message.

03/11/2025

Day 3: Polygons

Key Areas: Pinpointing the Philippine's priceless natural treasures, where unique and endangered find their last, best .

version 3.44.3-Solothurn.

02/11/2025

Day 2: Lines

The Faults in Our Land: Map of the showing the locations of minor and major lines.

version 3.44.3-Solothurn.

01/11/2025

Day 1: Points

Resting Places - Each point corresponds to a mapped or burial site in the .

version 3.44.3-Solothurn.

29/08/2025

I created this simple map of Catanduanes using the style of Edward Imhof, the famous Swiss cartographer known for his hand-painted maps of Switzerland and other mountain regions of the world. In making the map, I applied traditional hillshading, multidirectional hillshading, and a translucent topographic layer. This layer adds a mist-like effect, similar to the sfumato technique used by Renaissance painters.

19/08/2025

Seismic Hazard in the Philippines

This map shows the seismic hazard levels across the country, based on the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) 2023.1. The values represent peak ground acceleration (PGA)—the expected strength of earthquake shaking—with a 10% chance of being exceeded in 50 years.

Blue areas indicate lower hazard, while red areas mark the highest hazard zones. These values were computed using the OpenQuake engine, which brings together national and regional seismic hazard models into a consistent global framework. The map also applies a smoothing process to align differences at model boundaries.

While some regions show relatively lower hazard, it’s important to remember that earthquakes remain possible anywhere, and preparedness is essential.

Data source: Global Earthquake Model (GEM) – Global Seismic Hazard Map 2023.1

Softwares used: QGIS 3.44.2 Solothurn and Blender 4.5

06/08/2025

𝗖𝗮𝗴𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻

The Cagayan River Basin is a monumental force of nature in the Philippines, dominating the northeastern landscape of Luzon Island. It isn't just the country's largest river basin; it's a sprawling, life-giving system that shapes the geography, economy, and culture of the entire region.

At the heart of the basin is the Cagayan River, the country's longest and largest river. Known as the "Rio Grande de Cagayan," it flows northward for approximately 505 kilometers, carving a massive valley as it makes its way to the Babuyan Channel. This valley is the basin's core, and its immense size, about 27,700 square kilometers, makes it a truly expansive territory.

This colossal basin is surrounded by three formidable mountain ranges that act as its natural boundaries. To the east, the Sierra Madre mountain range stands as a towering wall, while the Cordillera Central range defines the western edge. These two ranges are among the most extensive in the Philippines and funnel countless streams and tributaries into the main river. To the south, the Caraballo-Maparang range closes the valley, completing the basin's unique geographical bowl shape.

Let me know what you think about the Cagayan River Basin and the map.

30/07/2025

Based on the latest ESRI 10m Annual Land Cover dataset, trees continue to dominate the Philippine landscape in 2024, covering about 65% of the country’s land area. Crops make up the second largest share at 16%, reflecting the country’s strong agricultural sector. Rangeland, which is a combination of grass and scrub lands, accounts for 12%, while built-up areas, which include urban and residential zones, occupy around 6% of the land. Smaller portions are covered by flooded vegetation (0.5%) and bare ground (0.1%).

This dataset is generated using high-resolution Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and a deep learning model trained on billions of human-labeled pixels by Impact Observatory.

What can you say about the land cover map of the Philippines?

27/07/2025

Finally getting around to my first post of 2025! It's been a while, but I'm excited to share this map showing the land cover for Bicol Region. Lots to see here!

Made using QGIS 3.44 and Blender 4.4.3.

30/11/2024

I wanted to share this simple animation of Super Typhoon Reming (international name Durian). The animation shows the typhoon's track, with the size of the circle representing the wind strength in knots.

Reming made landfall today, November 30, 18 years ago. It was one of the most destructive typhoons to hit the Bicol Region, especially Albay province. I still remember the strong winds and heavy rain, and the widespread damage it caused. The impact on people's lives was devastating, and it's something I’ll never forget.

04/11/2024

Day 4 of the : Maps Using Hexagonal Grids 📍

For today’s challenge, I created a hexagon map that shows the population size across the Bicol Region, with each hexagon covering a 2x2 kilometer area. This format allows us to see patterns and densely populated areas that might not be as obvious on traditional maps.

Note: The hexagonal grid is for visual purposes only, so please use it as a general guide rather than a precise reference.

https://30daymapchallenge.com/

03/11/2024

Day 3 of the : A Map with Polygons 📍

This is a general geologic map of the Bicol Region, featuring polygons that describe the geologic age and types of surface outcrops of bedrock across the region. Each color represents distinct geological units, showing the diverse landscape shaped over time. Data from the US Geological Survey provided the basis for this visualization.

https://30daymapchallenge.com/

02/11/2024

This is my first time joining the ! I missed Day 1, but here’s my map for Day 2: A Map with a Focus on Lines. For this simple map, I made waterline effect around the municipality of Rapu-Rapu in Albay. Waterlines like these became popular in map-making, especially by the US Geological Survey in the late-1900s. I also added the island contours to show the shape of the land.

P.S. Cagraray Island is not part of Rapu-Rapu; it belongs to the municipality of Bacacay. Rapu-Rapu consists of two main islands: Rapu-Rapu Island and Batan Island.

https://30daymapchallenge.com/

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