Final Lab-Census 2000

My first map, is titled “Other Race Population” because it shows county level race data for some other race alone, against the continental United States, and ranked by percent. I retrieved the necessary data from the U.S. Census website www.census.gov. The color scheme which I chose for this map is explained by the legend at the lower left corner of the map; it contains six classes. The color scheme highlights the population percent distribution and makes for very distinct areas on the map; this creates a map which is easily read and searched for specific information about population. In the northeastern direction, the population percentages for this race are low; these increase in the southwestern part of the country. The scale bar and north arrow provide information for measurements and orientation respectively.

My second map is titled “Asian Population”, it shows county level race data, ranked by percent for the Asian population against the continental United States. This data I also retrieved from www.census.gov and it is for the year 2000. For this color scheme, I used nine classes in order to see the percentages in a more broken up format. The distribution of the Asian population appears to be scattered around continental United Sates, and there is no clear cut distinction between one part of the country and another. Once again, the north arrow provides direction, and the scale bar a basis for measurement.

My third, and last map, is titled “Black Population”. The information in this map consists of country level race data, percentage ranked across the United States. I retrieved the data from www.census.gov in the form of an excel document, and it is census 2000 data. In this map, I went back to using six classes for the color scheme. This map, like the first one, emphasizes clearly, where the black population is located in the United States. In, this case, the Black population is concentrated in the southeastern part of the country. The north arrow and the scale bar help in navigation about the map.

The census provided detailed excel documents about each population percentage distribution across the United States. In order to use these data files in Arc Map, it was necessary to modify the contents of the excel documents; I removed the headings above the actual data so that it would be possible to join this data to the counties layer. It was also important to give the excel files a title without spaces so that Arc Map would be able to recognize them.

I have really enjoyed and also hated my experience with GIS. Overall, it is an experience which I have extracted much knowledge from and I am always interested in the different tricks and tools I can use to complete my labs. But, when I am stuck on a step in the process, I become very frustrated and feel like I don't know anything. I enjoy very much however, figuring out the steps which have stopped my progress on my own. It is gratifying to learn from other classmates as well, but when I figure it out on my own, I love it. I feel that GIS gives skills which can be used for a specific field, which is mapping, but it also allows me to work on a huge range of topics (with GIS, I can map pretty much anything). In using GIS, there are no limits to discovering and working in any field. I enjoyed GIS and I would like to continue to intermediate, I hope I can survive.

Lab #6 DEM

I chose to acquire a DEM from a region of the Yosemite National Park. I had a difficult time finding this region from just looking at the map on the website, however there was a tab which added the counties to the map and I was able to find the park. The process of downloading the map was very practical and easy to do.
The different overlays which I projected the map in were hillshade, slope, and aspect. The DEM layer was set above these other layers in the ArcMap table of contents in order to see the information portrayed on the DEM layer. I picked different color schemes to best suit the information displayed.
Finally there was a 3D map to be made. The DEM had to be in ArcScene in order for this 3D map to be made. When recently inputting the information into ArcScene, I could not find my 3D image, the screen was blank. The problem was solved by adjusting the value for the "Z unit conversion factor" to a .0001 value.
There were more toolbars to be used for this DEM lab which allowed the viewing of the DEM in multiple ways. It was necessary to keep track of which toolbars to use and when to use them. This lab was interesting, especially when working with a 3D visual in ArcScene.

Lab #5 Map Projections

Original Map


Conformal Projections
Mercator


Gall Stereographic


Equal Area Projections
Sinusoidal


Bonne


Equal Area Projections
Equidistant Conic


Aitoff (Equatorial Azimuthal)


The map projections which I chose belong to three different categories which are conformal, equal area, and equidistant. For the conformal map projections I chose Mercator and Gall Stereographic; for the equal area category, I chose Sinusoidal and Bonne; the equidistant map projections were Equidistant Conic and Aitoff. To understand and analyze how the different map projections change the perception of the world map, distance in miles was taken for all map projections between the cities of Kabul and Washington D.C. across the Atlantic ocean; the distances are as follows: Mercator-10,163 mi, Gall Stereographic-7,167 mi, Sinusoidal-8,094 mi, Bonne-6,779 mi, Equidistant Conic-6,992, and Aitoff-8,649 mi.

It is important to understand the characteristics of each type of map projection to have a better understanding of how the world is perceived on each map. Conformal map projections have parallels and meridians which intersect at right angles; this can be observed from the Gall stereographic map. However the most important characteristic of a conformal map projection is that map scale is preserved across the map; meaning that shape and angles are preserved. In equidistant map projections, the distance from the center of the map is equal in all directions; this is clearly observed in the equidistant conic map. Lastly, in equal area projections, areas on the map maintain the same proportional relationship.

Because variation in the distance measurements from Kabul to Washington D.C. are noticed in all six map projections, it is important to understand what each map will be used for. A clear understanding of the purpose the specific map in terms of what information it provides, makes it easier to choose a map and understand why a given measurement is what it is. Also, the person analyzing a specific map projection might benefit more from an equidistant map projection if his study needs a map with the qualities of this type of projection.

Questions answered about the general map were measurements of the span of the equator-360 degrees. From northern to southern-most graticule the measurement is 180 degrees.

Lab # 4 Introducing ArcMap

Lab # 3 Neogeography

View Ixtlan Del Rio, Nayarit, Mexico in a larger map

Historic Sites in Ixtlan del Rio, Nayarit, Mexico

The theme of my map is historic sites in the city of Ixtlan del Rio, Nayarit in the country of Mexico. History plays an important part in the everyday lives of the citizens as well as in special celebrations. Los Toriles ruins which lie on the outskirts of the city were built in 900-1300 CE by a mesoamerican civilization possibly influenced by the Toltecs. The ruins contain mostly burial grounds; the main attraction in the ruins is the round-shaped temple built for the god of the wind, Quetzalcoatl. The topography of the site of the ruins is flat and is surrounded by mountains and rivers. The mount of Cristo Rey (Jesus Christ) is also historically and religiously important in the city. At the top of the mount, there is the Cristo Rey statue which is as tall as a three-floor building. This site was inaugurated on October 30, 1949 and every year, it is the focal point of religious celebrations which take place every October. The city is separated into headquarters which correspond to each of the churches in the city. The route to the mount of Cristo Rey on the map is taken by one of the headquarters from the church "Nuestra Senora del Carmen" to the mount; religious songs and prayers are offered by the people to Cristo Rey.
Another historic site is the presidency of Ixtlan del Rio, a place where the celebration of the independence of Mexico has taken place for many years and continues to take plce every fifteenth of September; the celebration is called "El Grito de la Independencia". It consists of the citizens coming together at the "Plaza de Armas" (which is adjacent to the presidency)to take act in traditions such as firework shows, dancing, and breaking eggs filled with confetti on other citizens. The central act of the night is to hear the president of the city yell "Viva Mexico" in commemoration of Mexico's independence. The significance of the title "Plaza de Armas" has to do with war; this parade ground was the main focus of the opponent attacking the city because once he reached it, it meant he conquered the city. These historic sites make up the present customs and traditions of the citizens of Ixtlan del Rio. Neogeography allows for this type of evaluation of a specific place and the making of it into a map. A potential problem with this aspect of neogeography might be that the experience of the person making the map is most likely not the experience of everyone else with the specific site. Therefore, other neogeographers may disagree or see someone else's map as erroneous. Neogeography however is very useful when pointing out specific features of a place to someone who has never been there. As an example, my map provided specific customs and traditions of a town which can inform an outsider in order for him/her to transition easily into this new place.

Geography 7 Lab #2

1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle
2. Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, and Inglewood
3. 1966
4. National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 or North American Datum of 1927
5. 1:24,000
6. a)1,200 meters
b)1.89 miles
c)2.64 inches
d)12.5 centimeters
7. 20 ft
8. a)34 degrees 04'30'' North and 118 degrees 26'50'' East/ 34.075 degrees North and -118.447
degrees West
b)34 degrees 00'20'' North and 118 degrees 29'55'' East/ 34.006 degrees North and -118.499
degrees West
c)34 degrees 07'10'' North and 118 degrees 24'00'' East/ 34.119 degrees North and -118.400
degrees West
9. a)580 ft (177 m)
b)140 ft (43 m)
c)640 ft (195 m)
10. Zone 11
11. 362000 easting and 3763000 Northing
12. 1,000,000 meters squared
13.
14. 14 degrees
15. South
16.

Geography 7 Lab #1

This is a map of the city of Bell in the East Los Angeles region. I retrieved this map from the city of Bell's official website. This map is specific in showing all the streets and how they connect. This map shows communication taking place at the scale of city. The map shows the legibility of this city in the organization of the streets. There is uniformity in how the streets and avenues run. Also, this map is a good example of a nominal location. I also think this map is interesting because it shows an outsider how to navigate in the city (a person who lives in the city might find a map with landmarks more relevant to his/her needs).

This is a map of the Los Angeles freeways and airports. I took this map from an internet tours website (inetours.com). My interest in this map focuses on the freeways. I see that the freeway system is an intense web of communication at the scale of counties (as opposed to my next map which represents communication at an international scale). I also think this map is interesting because in case of an emergency it is a resource for orientation and also an evacuation plan. Even though the freeways in Los Angeles are more often than not traffic jammed, they create easier routes which are taken to get to Los Angeles from other nearby counties.

This is a map of the Mediterranean sea and the land masses surrounding it. The Wikipedia website is online source from which I retrieved this image. The map shows the Mediterranean sea as its center with the European, African, and Asian continents surrounding it. I find this map interesting because it shows many possible paths of communication in terms of sea navigation for three different continents. Furthermore, it represents the complex political and economic interactions between the three continents. I also find this map interesting because it shows the connection of the Mediterranean sea to the Atlantic sea (many consider the Mediterranean sea as its own body of water).