We always recommend having a map book at your side.
If you have a modem connection, the map book is faster and more efficient
for finding the general area of places. Then you use the internet
for the specific locality. It also gets you to look away from the
screen periodically, which is better for your eyes.
The speed of this method of computing lat/long is directly related to the speed of your internet connection. We have had several home users make much better time by working at their school library or other facility with a fast connection.
Another useful site for collections in remote areas is the TOPO ZONE. Many collections are from parks and wilderness areas where there are no towns to navigate by. In these cases it is easier to work from a topographic map. The main difference between TOPO ZONE and MAPBLAST is that with TOPOZONE there is no marker. You just point to the place on the map that you want the lat/long for and click. It will recenter the map and give the lat/long for that location in the upper left corner of the screen
Thank you for donating your time the the Fairchild Tropical Garden Virtual Herbarium Project.