# Posts

## Pretty rivers

Jan 1, 2024 | 1 minute read

I like maps that isolate different natural features. And I think that rivers make pretty patterns. So I made a series of scripts that generates a pretty map of rivers. I hope to print the maps of places that are important to me as art.

The code that generates these maps is here: https://git.dendroalsia.net/ben/pretty_rivers

One key to making the map visually appealing, is setting the width of the river relative to the upstream watershed area. The USGS data includes that watershed area, and through trying different options, I found that this ratio worked well:

linewidth = (upstream surface area)^0.3204*0.0446

This works for the extent and river sizes in Wisconsin, I have to adjust it for maps of smaller areas or different sized rivers.