Week 1 - Overview of ArcGIS Lab Assignment

The purpose of the the first lab in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was to explore some of the features and functions of ArcGIS Pro by working with and exploring an example data set and creating a map of world countries by populations with major cities. In addition, the lab introduced terms associated with GIS, applying them in the creation of the map. The lab included step-by-step instructions for creating the map, allowing students to make design choices for the essential map elements and layout. The image above is the resultant map I produced for the lab. I found the lab easy to follow and although this is not the first map I've created in ArcGIS Pro, it is the first map I've produced by myself in some time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Module 2: Coordinate Systems

Image
In this week's lab I explore different coordinate systems and projections in order to better understand the nature of distortions introduced by the systems. For the last part of the lab, I was tasked with selecting a state in the contiguous US and selecting an appropriate projection for the area. I selected the state of Wyoming as my area of interest. Wyoming has 4 State Plane zones and two UTM zones, so neither a single State Plane nor UTM system would work for this area without distorting the size or shape of the state. Therefore, the best coordinate system for this area is Custom Coordinate system. I chose NAD 1983 WyLam (Meters), a custom system specifically for the state of Wyoming, as the projected coordinate system. This coordinate system is a Lambert secant-case normal-aspect conic type projection which preserves shape and is appropriate for a general reference map. The standard parallels are placed at 41N and 45N, the boundaries of the state of Wyoming, which minimizes...
Read more

Module 6: Proportional Symbol and Bivariate Choropleth Mapping

Image
The objectives of this week's lab was to explore proportional symbol and bivariate choropleth mapping techniques, as well as customizing legends for each technique. One of the data sets for this lab included positive and negative values. The final map utilizes proportional symbols to show both positive and negative values. This map is essentially two proportional symbol maps overlaid on each other, one for positive job growth and another for negative job growth, with the symbols for both variables sized the same. Utilizing proportional symbols to show both positive and negative values is an effective way to visualize areas that show the greatest and lowest values. These areas are easy to see quickly on the map and give the map reader a simple way to visualize the variable being mapped. Fig 1. Proportional symbol map using positive and negative values.  Another data set for this lab examined contained two data variables: percent of the US population in each state that is obe...
Read more

Module 8: Isarithmic Mapping

Image
The purpose of this lab was to investigate the PRISM Interpolation Method to develop an isarithmic map of average annual precipitation for Washington state. PRISM is a model that calculates climate-elevation relationships from point data for each grid cell in a digital elevation model (DEM). The data set for Washington state includes annual precipitation over a 30 year period (1981-2010). In this lab, I explored two methods for symbolizing this data in ArcGIS Pro. The first symbolization method was using continuous tone symbology. Continuous tone symbology symbolizes a feature with differing shades between contours, where each point on the surface is shaded with a tone proportional to the value of the surface at that point. This results in a map where the shade of the colors vary and blend between contours, creating a smooth surface. A hillshade effect was applied to the map by using the Dynamic Range Adjustment (DRA) Hillshade Effect and editing the color and transparency of a co...
Read more