ENGL 228: American Nature Writing

See if you can find where others have documented your site or one near it.  There are a growing number of options out there with improving search capabilities.  Perhaps someone has tagged an image or note about your topic.  Remember to be creative in thinking of search terms that might yield results.  It may be a long shot but worth a try, especially if your place is a named park or other more readily identified location.

Flickr: www.flickr.com
Example: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=hanging%20rock%20state%20park [Hanging Rock State Park}

Remember to explore the different viewing options available to you through GoogleMaps:  https://maps.google.com/

Also, the U.S. governmental mapping programs continue to be an excellent resource and have many things now available online, including topographical maps and tools beyond what you get with basic GoogleMaps: http://nationalmap.gov/

Built environments are best documented but these maps can also show natural areas. This is especially true for areas that had structures in the past. North Carolina's Sanborn Maps are available through Hege Library's Databases and similar maps may be available through local and state libraries for other locations outside of North Carolina.

Search in library catalogs for print options, such as atlases, gazeteers, and map collections.  These probably won't get into the level of detail you can zoom to with the online suggestions but can provide broader context and perhaps lead to other information.

Use the library's catalog and databases to see if there are articles or books out there on your topic.  These might include maps and images.  Think broadly in some cases.  For example, your search for "Guilford College woods" is not likely to yield results.  However, a search for Piedmont North Carolina old growth forests provides scientific articles on topics that might relate to features you observe in the more specific location.