According to ESRI a TIN
is "a data structure composed of two elements: points with x,y,z values,
and a series of edges joining these points to form triangles. The
triangular mosaic forms a continuous faceted surface, much like a jewel."
This faceted surface is clearly present in the TIN of the Western Basin
of Lake Erie. Although this faceting my be contrary to the actual
lake basin morphology, it serves as a useful tool in visualizing the topographic
expressions in the lake basins. Inconjuction with each TIN there is a cross
section of the lake basin. These cross sections incorporate vertical
exaggeration due to the extreme differences between the vertical and horizontal
scales. Vertical exaggeration is defined as horizontal scale/vertical
scale. Arc View computed the vertical exaggeration for each representation
and it appears that it has used vertical scale/ horizontal scale,
the viewer should note this.
Lake Erie | Lake Michigan |
Western Basin | Whitefish Fan |
Long Point Erie Channel | Mid Lake Plateau |
Eastern Basin | Mackinac Channel |