The MapForge Blog
Guides and field notes written to be actually useful — real workflows, honest caveats, and internal links to every tool a post relies on. No filler, no thin content.
Understanding GPS Coordinates: Formats, Datums and Precision
A practical guide to latitude/longitude: what decimal degrees and DMS really mean, why datums matter, and how many decimal places you actually need.
Read →KML vs. GeoJSON vs. GPX: Choosing the Right Map File Format
The practical differences between the three most common geographic file formats — when to use each, what they lose in conversion, and how to move between them.
Read →Distance Calculation: Haversine, Geodesics & When It Matters
Why flat-Earth math fails past a few kilometres, what the haversine formula does, and how big the difference to a full ellipsoidal geodesic really is.
Read →Planning a Road Trip With Nothing but Free Map Tools
A complete weekend-warrior workflow: stops, optimized order, fuel budget, drive-time sanity checks and a GPX file for the car — all without a single paid app.
Read →What 'As the Crow Flies' Actually Means — and When It Lies to You
Great-circle distance is the planet's honest answer, but roads, borders and rivers charge a tax. A field guide to knowing which distance your question needs.
Read →The Right Format for Every Job: GPS Files in Real Life
KML from Google My Maps, GPX from the bike computer, GeoJSON from the analyst — a practical workflow for converting without losing what matters.
Read →Reading an Isochrone Map Like a City Planner
Those lumpy drive-time shapes are the city telling you its secrets. How to read fingers, holes and lobes — and use them for real decisions.
Read →How Accurate Is Your GPS, Really? A Practical Primer
Five decimals, one metre, and other promises your phone can't keep. What GPS precision actually means, and how to store coordinates honestly.
Read →Chasing Golden Hour: A Photographer's Solar Toolkit
Golden hour is an altitude band, not a clock time. How to plan light with solar tools — windows, horizons and the moon's bonus — instead of guessing.
Read →Why 'Where Am I?' Has Five Different Correct Answers
City, county, state, postcode, country: five overlapping geographies that disagree on purpose. A gentle tour of the layers under your feet.
Read →Hardiness Zones & Climate Codes: Will It Grow Here?
Seed packets speak in zones, nurseries in vibes. How to read your hardiness zone and Köppen code honestly — and garden with the microclimate, not against it.
Read →How Far Can You See? The Quiet Math of Horizons
From a beach, a cliff or a cabin deck: the horizon has a distance, two observers have a sum, and terrain has a verdict. A walk through visibility math.
Read →Moving Abroad? Compare Cities Like an Analyst
Cost indices, density, daylight curves and meeting windows: the four-number framework that turns a scary move into a readable spreadsheet.
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