Ground Zero

[GEOboyz]

I noticed some individuals reference ground zero for a Town and that geocaching.com provides distances from some phantom point in a given town to a cache.

Question: How is ground zero found for a town ?

Edited August 26, 2005 by GEOboyz

[+mini cacher]

from what I understand, "ground zero" is the coords for the post office for any given zip code. Is that what you mean?

 

take a look at this one: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=105187

Edited August 27, 2005 by mini cacher

[+cache_test_dummies]

Is this in reference to a puzzle cache by any chance? Wouldn't that be cheating of we told you?

[Clan Riffster]

I know that "Ground Zero", (as provided by Magellan), for the town of Geneva Fl is someone's side yard, while Ground Zero for Geneva as provided by Google Earth is in the southbound lane of 1st St. Ground Zero for Deltona Fl, (as provided by Google Earth) is a small chunk of woods between Normandy Blvd & Whitewood Dr and Magellan says it's a patch of woods near Lombardy Dr & Midland Dr. None of these locations has a post office.

 

I have no idea who decides, or how they decide, what the final coordinates for a particular city will be.

 

How to find Ground Zero is pretty easy. My GPSr has a base map with listings for major cities. I just go into my database and look for the city I want. Another option would be to utilize a computer based map program such as Google Earth. Type in the city you want, then scroll your mouse cursor over the map dot to get the coordinates.

[+WascoZooKeeper]

I once used a source of data that used the geographic center of a ZIP code area. Could be that's what some of those seemingly odd locations are.

[Pylon]

You know i've always wondered what the conditions are that let people say "hey ya, those are the coordinates i believe should represent xxxx city"

[+BlueDeuce]

With City Select v7 the 'ground zero' in my town just changed to the police department.

[+Prime Suspect]

I noticed some individuals reference ground zero for a Town and that geocaching.com provides distances from some phantom point in a given town to a cache.

Question: How is ground zero found for a town ?

For metropolitan areas, it will be the center of the business district (i.e., "downtown"). For smaller towns, it may be the town square, or courthouse, or simply somewhere close to the center of the town's border. There's nothing official about it, and it's pretty much left up to the map makers.

 

BTW, when you see a highway sign that says "XX miles to Somewhere", that's the distance to the business district, not to the city limit.

Edited August 27, 2005 by Prime Suspect

[+briansnat]

from what I understand, "ground zero" is the coords for the post office for any given zip code. Is that what you mean?

 

take a look at this one: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=105187

Its definitely not the post office. The post office in my town is several miles from what geocaching.com says is ground zero. Its not the geographic center either as in my town GZ in the southwest corner of the Zip Code.

 

Oddly enough its the same place as Mapquest begins directions if I use my town's Zipcode and leave the street off.

[+mini cacher]

sorry, from that thread I pointed to and based on Jeremy's response in it, I took it to mean that at gc.com, when searching via zip code, you got the coords for the post office. I'm pretty sure that is what the thread talked about. However, it is possible that it is wrong. BEst best would be to wait for an answer from someone in the loop at gc.com since they may do it differently than City Select, Magellen, google, etc...

[+Prime Suspect]

sorry, from that thread I pointed to and based on Jeremy's response in it, I took it to mean that at gc.com, when searching via zip code, you got the coords for the post office. I'm pretty sure that is what the thread talked about. However, it is possible that it is wrong.

That's right, distance to a zip code is usually to the main post office for that zip code. But the OP didn't ask about zip codes, he asked about towns.

[+AMMOMAN]

http://tiger.census.gov/cgi-bin/mapbrowse-tbl

 

Try this.....

[Mushtang]

sorry, from that thread I pointed to and based on Jeremy's response in it, I took it to mean that at gc.com, when searching via zip code, you got the coords for the post office.  I'm pretty sure that is what the thread talked about.  However, it is possible that it is wrong.

That's right, distance to a zip code is usually to the main post office for that zip code. But the OP didn't ask about zip codes, he asked about towns.

Not around here. I have a series of Zip Code caches and I've figured out the coords that GC.com uses for the zip code locations for each. So my cache called "30017" is right on the spot where the web site would measure from if you searched for the zip code 30017.

 

The center for 30045 is in someone's back yard, so I had to use a lame micro across the street in a publix parking lot.

 

It might be different in other places, but the center points for zip codes here aren't anywhere near post offices.

[+KKTH3]

I noticed some individuals reference ground zero for a Town and that geocaching.com provides distances from some phantom point in a given town to a cache.

Question: How is ground zero found for a town ?

For metropolitan areas, it will be the center of the business district (i.e., "downtown"). For smaller towns, it may be the town square, or courthouse, or simply somewhere close to the center of the town's border. There's nothing official about it, and it's pretty much left up to the map makers.

 

BTW, when you see a highway sign that says "XX miles to Somewhere", that's the distance to the business district, not to the city limit.

I remember driving up I-5 and passing a sign that announced 7 miles to Tacoma.... about 200 yards later you pass the "entering Tacoma" sign.

 

I believe there is a place that is even worse along I-80 heading east from Sanfrancisco. You actually pass the "Entering Fairfield" sign BEFORE passing a sign that lists Fairfield as another 4 miles ahead.

 

Anyway, I've always know that the milage was listed to the central business district or city hall, but I get a chuckle out of those kind of odd sign placements.

[+Wacka]

For wierd signs, travel on the interstate in Berkeley,CA between The Oakland-Bay Bridge and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. You are simultaneously on I-80 East and I-580 West!

[+mini cacher]

sorry, from that thread I pointed to and based on Jeremy's response in it, I took it to mean that at gc.com, when searching via zip code, you got the coords for the post office.  I'm pretty sure that is what the thread talked about.  However, it is possible that it is wrong.

That's right, distance to a zip code is usually to the main post office for that zip code. But the OP didn't ask about zip codes, he asked about towns.

Yes, but he also asked about geocaching.com and them measuring distance from a phantom point... Since I've never seen a place to search gc.com by town name, I assumed that phantom point would have been what ever they saw as the center of the zip code. Where can we see a search based on a phantom "center of town"?

 

geocaching.com provides distances from some phantom point in a given town to a cache.

[+Prime Suspect]

Yes, but he also asked about geocaching.com and them measuring distance from a phantom point...  Since I've never seen a place to search gc.com by town name, I assumed that phantom point would have been what ever they saw as the center of the zip code.  Where can we see a search based on a phantom "center of town"?

Well, you know what they say about assuming things.

Search by city (Ca.)

[+mini cacher]

hmmm... I've never seen that page. You learn something new everyday. Interesting. Thanks.

[+Ambrosia]

Our center of zipcode from gc.com is probably over a mile away from our post office. The odd thing that I have found that's even weirder though, is that when you search our town "Wenatchee", the search page pops up with the name, "Appleyard". Appleyard was a very small community around 100 years ago, about 3 miles from the zipcode center of Wenatchee at this time. Most people in Wenatchee don't even know about it. I've always wondered where gc.com comes up with it? It's rather bizzare. I made a cache in honor of it: Appleyard.

[+wandererrob]

Check around, you'll actually find some "Ground Zero" caches. I did one recently. And no, it was nowhere near the post office, business distric or much else really. As for the source, that was part of the challenge in finding it.

[+BlueDeuce]

Well the other thread was closed before I could ask, so I'll ask here:

 

Jeremy answers it exactly in the link in that thread.

 

ah, Jeremy who? I don't see the gc.com-Jeremy's posting.

[+cache_test_dummies]

He posted in a link that was referred to in this thread.

[+Ambrosia]

Well the other thread was closed before I could ask, so I'll ask here:

 

Jeremy answers it exactly in the link in that thread.

 

ah, Jeremy who? I don't see the gc.com-Jeremy's posting.

Sorry, I was wrong. It was the hermit crabs: Link

 

The quote is:

 

Do cache search from the zip code you're interested in. When the list pops up, hover your mose over the "Map it" link in the upper-right corner. The coords for that zip code will show up in the information bar at the bottom of your browser window. (They're in dd.ddddd, so you'll have to convert them to dd mm.mmm.)

[+BlueDeuce]

It was the hermit crabs

Ah, Thank you. I ask becuase I was interested.

 

Believe it or not I don't read every thread!

[+wornout]

For wierd signs, travel on the interstate in Berkeley,CA between The Oakland-Bay Bridge and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. You are simultaneously on I-80 East and I-580 West!

I grew up in Fremont and believe me, that is NOT why they call that town 'Berserkly'.

[+BilboB]

I am still trying to get a handle on this one. Is everyone pretty much as confused about how to do this one as I am?

[+wandererrob]

I am still trying to get a handle on this one. Is everyone pretty much as confused about how to do this one as I am?

I think the general, round-about point we're trying to get at is that there are various ways of finding ground zero for a town depending on what you are trying to do.

 

I don't want to directly post a method, however, as this is part of the challenge in finding some of the ground zero caches.

[+jimmyreno]

from what I understand, "ground zero" is the coords for the post office for any given zip code.  Is that what you mean?

 

take a look at this one: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=105187

Its definitely not the post office. The post office in my town is several miles from what geocaching.com says is ground zero. Its not the geographic center either as in my town GZ in the southwest corner of the Zip Code.

 

Oddly enough its the same place as Mapquest begins directions if I use my town's Zipcode and leave the street off.

In Great Britain, it certainly is the post office

[+drat19]

For wierd signs, travel on the interstate in Berkeley,CA between The Oakland-Bay Bridge and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. You are simultaneously on I-80 East and I-580 West!

I can top that:

 

http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/log/ab8fc...c7edf9f71ac.jpg

[+Isonzo Karst]

Hmmm??

 

Drat19, it's no wonder we couldn't get to that cache!

[The 2 Dogs]

In Australia the reference was always taken from the either the Post Office, or Railway Station. Sometimes the Railway station is the Post Office. Altitude readings are taken from the highest place within a postal boundry. All this is changing however as post offices in small towns close down. I note that often the place name waypoints on my GPS mapping don't seem to follow this rule and often have no logical reason for their positioning.

[+Jeonlyep]

"Ground Zero" in my town varies by several blocks depending on what mapsite you ask. I've been thinking about a cache in the location that GC says is the middle, but I don't know that neighbor too well, yet.

 

DAryl

Cimarron, KS

[+Thrak]

Didn't you ever see The Matrix or Star Wars?

 

There is no Ground Zero...

 

This is not the Ground Zero you are looking for...

[+cachew nut]

Try the corner of First and Main.