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How to Zoom to a KMZ Layer Using maplibre-gl-kmz-layer

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It took me a while to figure out to zoom to a KMZ Layer using maplibre-gl-kmz-layer using MapLibre GL and the Gemini AI wasn’t exactly helpful. It’s quite simple if you use the getData() function your KMZ Layer, then pass the features object along to turf.bbox() to get the bounding box.

map.fitBounds(turf.bbox(kmzLayer.getData().features));

Here is a complete code example, that can be copied and pasted in your browser. You may have to change the KMZ file path, as my server does not allow hot linking, but other then that it will run locally.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
	
    <link rel='stylesheet' href='https://unpkg.com/maplibre-gl@5.24.0/dist/maplibre-gl.css' />
    <script src='https://unpkg.com/maplibre-gl@5.24.0/dist/maplibre-gl.js'></script>
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/northprint/maplibre-gl-kmz-layer@main/dist/maplibre-gl-kmz-layer.js"></script>
    
    <!-- required for finding the bbox of the underlying KMZ layer -->
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@turf/turf@7/turf.min.js"></script>
    
    <style>
        body { margin: 0; padding: 0; }
        html, body, #map { height: 100%; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<div id="map"></div>

<script>
	
// initial map set up with openfreemap
const map = new maplibregl.Map({
    container: 'map',
    zoom: 10,
    center: [ -74.62274, 43.68907],
    pitch: 0,
    bearing: 0,
    maxPitch: 95
});

map.setStyle('https://tiles.openfreemap.org/styles/bright');

// once the map is then fully load the KMZ layer
// so that it appears above all other layers

map.on('load', async () => {	  
	let kmzLayer = new MaplibreGLKMZLayer.KMZLayer({
	  id: 'kmz-layer',
	  url: 'https://andyarthur.org/data/kml_20266.kmz'
	});

  await kmzLayer.addTo(map);

  // to zoom to the KMZ layer, you need to get the underlying feature data
  // use the turf library to get the bounding box (bbox) and pass this along to
  // map.fitBounds

	map.fitBounds(turf.bbox(kmzLayer.getData().features));
});

</script>
</body>
</html>

Condon Hollow Trail – Halcott Mountain Lean To

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The Condon Hollow Trail follows an old mountain pass that runs between South Vly Mountain and Sleeping Lion in the Hallcott Mountain Wild Forest. The lean-to is located 2.0 miles west of of the Condon Hollow Parking Area, or 1/2 mile east of the Turk Hollow Road. The col between the mountains is 2,860 elevation, an ascent of 800 feet from Condon Hollow Parking Area. The lean-to is at 2,380 feet, which roughly 300 ascent from the end of Turk Hollow Road or 400 feet below the col. Tailhead parking at: 42.21852779311055,-74.42673587591332

More information on this forest can be found on DEC website: https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/28314.html

Condon Hollow Trail - Halcott Mountain Lean To

Map: Cat Hollow State Forest

Farm Life

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A few years back on the beach I overheard a conversation between a couple about farming. The wife had a romantic notion of owning a farm, which the husband quickly responded back noting that people who farm for a living their whole life resolves around the farm, making sure animals get fed, crops get maintained and harvested, necessary jobs get done. Farmers even when they do take vacations rarely get far from home often traveling back to take care of their livestock.

Being watched as the sun set

On the other hand, farmers own a lot of land and are control and management of their land. Maybe they don’t get to go on vacation or travel as much, but they live a life where escape doesn’t have to be such a big part of their life. They have land they can hunt, they serve as their own boss, they can ride four wheelers, burn trash and have bonfires. They can see the progress they’ve made each day, see directly the impacts of their quality of work. It’s a hard life, but one of such fortune for the two percent.

Social distancing in a community of 76 people per square mile 🏡🐮🏡🐷🌲🌳

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I grew up in the Town of Westerlo which some time ago I figured out had a population density of something like 75 people per square mile. 🌆 That’s actually about the average population density of America – some places are much more dense, others more rural. That said, I grew up in a hamlet of Dormansville – the outskirts of the hamlet so I’m sure the population density was somewhat greater. 👪 My parents had like 5 acres of land and neighbors on three sides and city reservoir property behind it. I always thought that the neighbors were a bit too close.

The other day I was driving through Font Grove and the wind was blowing just the right way with the windows open in my truck and pungent smell of buck goat 🐐 rolled through the window. Definitely pungent. 👃 I was taken back to my childhood home, with my homesteading neighbors with their goats, pigs, cows, chicken and other livestock. And their very noisy donkey.🏇 The endless hours of them riding up and down the street with their four-wheelers and their noisy trucks that backfire all of the time.

All of which was fine, but I always though they were a little too close for comfort. When I own land, I would like to be a lot farther away from all neighbors. They say good fences make good neighbors, but so do distance too. If you are farther away, it keeps noisy neighbors from being bothered and keeps you from being bothered too. If they can’t smell or see your smoke, or livestock, everybody is just a lot happier.

Terrain Map: Pine Bush East Barrens Soil Map