Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site using aerial pond measurement tools

Hello,
I recently learned that like many others, the past calculations of my pond size was off. Searching this site gave some posts about some android (and iphone) apps that you can walk the perimeter and use GPS to measure. I couldn't get those to work very well and the accuracy was give or take about 12 feet for my GPS system in my phone so wasn't useful for my small pond.

I think i was using an old satellite view when I did it before?

I found this new link that for me uses a 2015 satellite view. I found this tool very easy to use.

Put your address in the top search box. Then zoom to the best view of your pond or area to measure. Just click and grab the map to pan around.

There is a handy 'rotate' icon or button in the bottom right that looks like a u-turn arrow. Sometimes the angle of the picture is such that you can't get a good view of the shore due to trees etc. You can rotate 90 degrees each time you click the button and some time can get a much better view.

Also I found that by zooming in, I could better place a lot of markers (each time you click it leaves a measure marker and connects the dots as you go around the perimeter) around the pond and get better accuracy.

Under the options below the map you can delete a single point if you don't like how you placed the measure point or clear all and start over.

Can change how you produce size in the output settings as well.

Fun tool to use and the results would have helped me order the correct amount of product I needed for my pond, rather than having a fair amount left over (teaser: TJ and I have been working on his Opus #15 or so using soil floc)

great measure tool for your pond

I just used a laser range finder...and figured area from that.

Sean

My pond is a very irregular oval. The middle section that has fairly straight long axis boundaries on each side is mostly straight, but it is far from a rectangle with a half circle on each end so I'm not sure how range finding would help. Maybe you can explain?

I found the map tool that encloses an irregular shape by connecting many many dots along the perimeter was very helpful.

I suspect the apps that let you walk the boundary would be very helpful as well.

Mine is mostly round, with a land bump out into it. I just did the area of the circle...

Sean

Same here, and the area can be sectioned off, measuring each and then adding them together. Works for me.

Tracy

This one seems to jive closer to what I had GPS'd mine off to when I first built it. I thought it was under 7 but the planometer site was like 4.5 - this one has it at 6.5 which is right about what I thought.

The satellite measuring tools work the best when the pond image is enlarged to it's maximum size, then the points are placed.