Angelique's GIS Portfolio

In this week's lab, I experimented with different methods to visualize terrain, with emphasis on contours and hillshading of DEMs. I used hillshade to support the visualization of landcover in Yellowstone National Park. For this map, I created a multidirectional hillshade from a DEM of the area. Multidirectional hillshade uses multiple imaginary light sources for all sides of the map so that all the terrain receives sufficient shading. This type of hillshade shows relative relief better on a map. For the land cover types, I combined types that were the same, e.g. three types of Douglas Fir,  several types of Lodgepole Pine, and several types of Whitebark Pine, respectively. I created a custom symbology for the land cover types to create visual contrast so that each type could be clearly seen and distinguished on the map. I placed the hillshade under the landcover layer and changed the transparency of the landcover to 50% so that the terrain could be visualized. The rest of the req...

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...

For this week's lab, I explore symbology and typography to create effective maps. Creating effective maps means applying the 5 map design principles to improve map products. The 5 map design principles are visual contrast, legibility, figure-ground orientation, hierarchical organization and balance. For this lab, I created 5 maps, exploring different tools in applying the map principles.  One of those maps I created is below. This is a map of some recreation sites in the City of Austin designed for a general audience with an interest in tourism to be published in a brochure or small poster.  Map of recreation sites for the City of Austin. I applied the 5 map design principles in this map so that they were complementary and resulted in a simple, easy to read basic map of recreation sites in and around the City of Austin. Below, I describe how I addressed each principle in the map. Visual Contrast: This is how map features and elements contrast with each other...