Africamap helps to address sensory issues in landscape by providing canvases through which we can imagine the taste, smell, touch, sound and sight of the landscape that we are looking at. The area that I am looking at on Africamap is the northeastern part of Tanzania, specifically the Serengeti National Park. Through Africamap we can imagine how the Serengeti looks. The way that I first imagined how the Serengeti looked was through the use of the landscape use map layer.
The Serengeti National Park
This land use map layer helps me imagine what the Serengeti looks like by evoking certain images. The brown on the map of the Serengeti area is land that is herbaceous and protected. This conjures up images of a serene savannah landscape that is not inhabited by people and has not been damaged by people through farming who have lived in the area. The next largest color-coded areas are in white, this signifies that there is no land use, further adding the serene image of the Serengeti national park.
Land Use
While the Serengeti is virtually uninhabited I know that people do live in the area, their presence is shown through the light brown color-coded areas, this color is for intensive pastoral practice. I know from my research that the nomadic Maasai people live in this area and that they often keep large herds of cows with them as they travel. This is evident through the spread of the spots of light brown that are scattered in this area. This speaks to our sense of smell because rather than a fresh smell of the outdoors in these areas we can imagine that the air may smell of cow dung, the cooking fires of the of the Maasai people, the smell of their food as they cook it as well as other man-introduced smells.Another way that we can imagine the landscape through our senses is through the maps of malaria epidemic and seasonal duration. I chose these maps because malaria is such a sensory disease. You hear as mosquitos buzz around you, you feel the sting of the mosquito, the itch of the bite, and when malaria overcomes you feel the effects through a fever and other symptoms. The map of malaria epidemic shows of there is little water in the area, as well as low populations. Mosquitoes need water to breed and people to infect in order for malaria to spread. This is because most of the Serengeti national park is savannah, there are small lakes and streams but they are highly dependant on the seasonal rains and there are not many people. You can imagine hearing the sounds of the mosquitoes buzzing softly in this space.
The map of the seasonal variation of malaria allows us to imagine various things, over 4 months between outbreaks of malaria we can imagine that the land is arid and dry for a good part of the year because when rain does not fall there are few breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In those months the land is dry and dusty, with little moisture even in the air. The terrain is full of bushes and dead and dry plants. These plants bloom when there is rain and are completely revived, creating beautiful green pastures and lakes full of water that are teaming in life. The mosquito and other animals can once again breed and produce young.
The map of the seasonal variation of malaria allows us to imagine various things, over 4 months between outbreaks of malaria we can imagine that the land is arid and dry for a good part of the year because when rain does not fall there are few breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In those months the land is dry and dusty, with little moisture even in the air. The terrain is full of bushes and dead and dry plants. These plants bloom when there is rain and are completely revived, creating beautiful green pastures and lakes full of water that are teaming in life. The mosquito and other animals can once again breed and produce young.
Maleria Epidemic
Malaria Seasonal Variation
