Not much actually.. Beaver dams maybe? I don't know what else. What a good reason to email me with ideas.

Currently I'm expecting to make minor corrections, add some new historical data from the maps in the University of Toronto libraries and generally polish the map up a bit more. Other than that.. I'm out of ideas.

From a technical perspective the map was created in Adobe Illustrator (CS2 first and then CS3 - the file is available on the download page.)

Work on the map began in August 2006, meaning it took almost two years from start to the public release of the first version. Although a preliminary version was complete after only one year I decided that it was lacking and redid almost everything in the year that followed.

I became interested in making my own map for a number of reasons. Firstly, I became very fustrated trying to navigate with some serious errors in another Algonquin map (ie one lake shows an incorrect number of bays!) I also noticed that I always forgot to take a look out for a spring or historical site of interest that I had read about online or in a book and realized that by placing that sort of information directly on a map I'd always have a reminder to look out for it. Finially, I found myself interested in the variety of canoe routes thatt had disappeared and with the realization that many canoe routes in the park were interconnected with routes outside of the park (ie you could start on the Black River by the Poker Lakes and paddle up to the Ottawa R.) With that interest and my preexisting knowledge of computing I plunged into the world of cartography (Everything I did in creating the map was learned through trial and error.)

The map file is composed of just about 120 layers of data, most representing a single feature. Different features of the map are inevitably based on different sources with differing levels of accuracy; by listing each layer below and briefing describing it I hope you can get a better idea of the accuracy of the map.

Waterbodies: In most cases this data is VERY accurate. It is a combination of two sources of data, one filling in for a few lakes that were missing in the other.

Current Campsites, Cart Trails, Rentable Ranger Cabins and Portages: This data is derived from the official government publication of this data, the Friends of Algonquin Map (See 'About the Copyright Act' to understand why this is legal.) Since the Friend's map doesn't have the same accuracy in terms of lake shapes I had to make some assumptions. This is compounded with the unfortuniate reality that there are a fair number of (Usually minor,) errors with their data. Overall I'd day this data is decent but I'm always trying to improve it.

Ontario Park's Board Proposed Logging Area Reductions: This data is from an MNR map given to me when I requested it. Sadly since crown copyright still exists and hence I can't share this map with you even though your tax dollars paid for it.

Active Summer Logging Roads: From the AFA's annual map.

Airports: Traced from satellight photos. Helipads are from the AFA's 2010-2020 forest managment plan planning maps that I purchased.

Proposed New Access Points and Expansions: From the current park Master Plan

Formerly Proposed Access Points: From old park Master Plan's

Outside Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves: From the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines mining data, the MNR and the act which created the most recent set of provincial parks and conservation reserves that appear on the map.

Old Lake Names & Portages: This set of information probably had the most sources. I used maps from 1893, 1908, 1914, 1922, 1936, 1947, 1958, 1967, 1970 and almost yearly since 1974. Accuracy was lower on older maps and is equal to current campsites on newer maps.

Old Campsite Locations: I used maps from 1974 until now (That's when they began being printed on maps.) The only exception are the four campsites on or nearby Canoe L - they are from ~1930 and were learned about in a book. Accuracy is equal to current campsites.

Highways and Roads: Identified via road maps.The data should be accurate within a few metres.

Logging Roads: This information comes from a variety of sources. The Ontario Park's Board logging area reduction plan, the AFA's logging road map, satellight photos and NTS maps all contibuted. They should be accurate within a few metres.

Wilderness, Natural Reserve, Natural Environment, Development and Historical Zones: From the park's Master Plan. Should be fairly accurately placed.

Dams, Rapids and Waterfalls: From personal observations, triplogs, NTS maps and satellight photos. Fairly accurate.

Dogsled Trails: From the park's map of dogsled trails and the AFA's forest managment planning maps. Accurate to my knowledge.

Hiking Trails: From books, park publications and websites.

Buildings: From NTS maps as well as a few one-off observations.

Ski Trails: The the official park publication and various websites. They should be fairly accurate.

Backpacking Trails: From the Ontario Park's Board report and the official map. May be slightly off but should be fairly accurate.

Springs: From posts on Algonquin Adventures, personal communications and a book. Incompelete... I'd really appreciate help with this layer.

Portage Grading: From triplogs and personal observation. For personal observation the accuracy is very good, however accuracy dwindles when the data is extracted from triplogs.

Maximum Portage Elevations: Estimated by tracing portages onto digital elevation models. Accurate where portages aren't feet from cliffs and where the portage data itself is accurate.

Canoe Routes With an 'Unknown' Path: From Books, forum posts, and personal communications

Rail Lines: Old maps and current road maps. Fairly accurate.

Rail Station Names: Old maps (All of those mentioned in previous enteries through 1970)

'Flat' Portages: Old maps and books. Accuracy varies.

ANSI Zones: From MNR data. Should be accurate.

Township Names & District/County Names: From old maps (See the list in previous enteries.)

Township & District/County Boundaries: From the MNR. Accurate.

Flow Arrows: From watershed boundary and lake elevation data. Accurate (Unless gravity changes.)

Lake Elevations: From the Geobase.ca DEM files. Accurate.

Firetowers and Old Ranger Cabins: From old maps. See above for a list of old maps. Accuracy varies. There were a few generations of fire towers and ranger cabins so some may be long gone and some may be locatable on the ground (Hence why I now label the last year they were on a map.)

Ontario Northland and Greyhound Bus Stations: From the companies respective websites.

Trap Cabins: From the AFA's forrest managment planning maps. May be misplaced up to 500m.

Campgrounds: From the park newspaper, websites and books. May be incomplete.

Portage Extentions: From personal observations, books and triplogs. May vary with water levels.

Sites on Portages: From personal observations. Incomplete.

Sawmills: Books, etc. May be lacking.

Picnic Areas: From the park newspaper, websites, and NTS maps. Should be accurate.

Portages That Might be Avoidable (WITH CAUTION): From books, triplogs and personal observations.

The following is my understanding of copyright law in Canada. I am not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice...

The Copyright Act, Bill C-42 doesn't have any provisions specifically for maps and hence only covers certain elements of maps; because copyright is designed to protect artistic works, only artistic choices are protected. When dealing with a movie or song this definition covers the whole work, however when dealing with maps the raw data is not artisticly created (In most cases) but is rather 'discovered'. Inevitably most maps will contain some sort of errors, but all readers of a map can in good faith believe that any specific piece of information is a valid fact and not artistic creation. Creative decisions can include the types of data presented, the extent of the data presented, unique data symbols, unique colour combinations and other such choices.

Although I do not know of a related Canadian lawsuit, there is an American example that is regularly used (The two countries have similar Copyright legislation in this regard) - Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Company. This suit outlines the idea that the amount of work done to collect data does not afford it copyright protection. Click here for a further analysis.

An additional relevant quote: "Although a mapmaker is not protected from copying of the factual information conveyed in the map, she is protected from the copying of any originality in the manner of expression employed in communicating the factual information. Without doubt, considerable skill and originality can be exercised by a mapmaker in the setting forth of unprotected information - in the selection or elimination of detail, the size, shape, and density of informative legends, the establishment of conventions relating to color or design to represent topographical or other features, and many other details of presentation."

This map is published under a Creative Commons license (Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada), but what does this mean for you? Usually when a work is produced you are restricted from copying or distributing the work and may not create derivate works for the length of time that the copyright remains valid. By using this Creative Commons license I have surrendered some of these rights in order to allow you to enjoy more freedoms. Under certain conditions (You must make clear to others the licence terms of this work) you are permitted to distribute this work to whomever you'd like. You can copy it, print it, etc 100% legally. Additionally you may create derivate works (eg you can add or remove data or you can crop and share large portions of the map provided you attribute the original work (but not in any way that suggests that I endorse you or your use of the work), you do so non-commercially and your derivate work is published under a similar license. If you have any questions read the full license (This is just a summary,) or contact me. I hope you enjoy the map!