Transcript Basic Compter Mapping - Geographic Research Commons

Geographic Information
Systems and History
HIST 6001
Historical Methods and Interpretation
7 September 2004
GC&SU
Doug Oetter
Dept. of History and Geography
445-7379
[email protected]
History and Geography
• History chronicles and explains changes
over time
• A good understanding of historical events
requires comprehension of the context of
the events
• The spatial dimension (geography) must
be examined through time as well
• Maps are the best way to portray past
events in a spatial context
Historical Mapping
• Cartography is the science of map-making
• There is a long tradition of making maps for
exploration, trade, travel, and geopolitical
pursuits
• Many older maps remain in atlases or wide
variety of archives and collections
• Translating the information from maps can be as
valuable as capturing other primary sources
• Modern mapping techniques allow historians to
report on past changes
Historical Maps
http://www.wadsworth.com/history_d/special_features/ext/duiker_maps/
Historical Maps
http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/guide/gmilltoc.html
Historical Maps
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/hist_sites.html
Maps and Mapping
Maps allow us to
convert 3dimensional
spheroid into 2dimensional map
Maps
• Advantages
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Graphic representations with symbolic language
Show spatial relationships with great efficiency
Can be changed through time and space
Useful to laypeople as well as scientists
• Limitations
– Maps can never be completely accurate, because the
world is contantly changing, and they necessarily
leave out detail
– Map distortion is inherent due to Earth’s curvature
• Either Shape, Area, Distance, or Direction is compromised
Map Making Methods
• Draw by hand
• Adapt from another
source
• Pre-made, editable map
software
– Cartesia & Adobe Illustrator
• Geographic Information
Systems (GIS)
– Complete spatial database
for mapping and
geographic inquiry
Why Make Maps on a
Computer?
• Digital storage
• Easy to update
• Easy to add
information
• Accurate
• Simple to adapt for
multiple users and
multiple media
Geographical Information
Systems (GIS)
• Computerized data
management system
designed to capture,
store, retrieve, analyze
and report geographic
and demographic
information
Geographic Information System
Components
• Hardware
– Digitizer, computer, plotter
– Global Positioning Satellite
• Software
– Grass, MapInfo, ArcView, ArcGIS
• Data
– Analog data (maps, tables, images)
– Digitial data (shapefiles, coverages, grids, raster
images)
• Users
GIS for Higher Education
• Information available from ESRI
Models for Spatial Data
• Vector
• Raster
© Paul Bolstad, GIS Fundamentals
Vector
Raster
Scanned Maps
Dimensions of Geographic
Information
• Spatial
– What is the shape?
– Where is it?
• Thematic
– What do we know about that place?
• Temporal
– When was it like that?
– How will it change over time?
GIS Software- ESRI ArcGIS
• ArcGIS Desktop Software
– ArcView—data
visualization, query, and
analysis capabilities
– ArcEditor—a powerful data
creation and editing
environment
– ArcInfo—the professional
GIS of choice for data
automation,
geoprocessing, and
analysis
ArcGIS
• Arc Map
– Viewing
– Map
creation
ArcGIS
• Arc Catalog
– File
maintenance
– Viewing layer
details
– Arc Toolbox
Using Digital Imagery
• Digital Maps
• Digital Raster Graphs
– Scanned and georegistered USGS
topographic maps
• Digital
Orthophotographs
– Geo-registered aerial
photographs
Exploring Georgia Data
• Download data file
• Unzip into a local directory
• Open ArcMap and ‘Connect
to Folder’
• Load in different data layers
• Pan
• Zoom
• Display legend
• Attribute table
• Attribute query
Mapping Exercise
Memory Hill Cemetary,
Milledgeville
http://www.friendsofcems.org/
MemoryHill/
Loading GPS Data
• NOTE: These
instructions are for
ArcView!!!
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Make X, Y, ID table in Excel
Export to .dbf format
Add file to ArcView as a
table
In View, Add Event Theme
Convert event theme to
Shapefile and save
OR
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Have your GPS unit do it
automatically!!
Map Production
• Basic map elements
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Title
Scale
Legend
Orientation
Metadata
Going Further
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Acquiring data
Generating data
Spatial analysis
Complex geographic solutions
– ArcGIS Extensions
ArcGIS Tutorials
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ESRI Main Page
ESRI Virtual Campus
USGS ArcView Tutorials
Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access
Tutorials
• List of GIS Tutorials at UC Berkeley
Internet Resources for GIS and History
http://hds.essex.ac.uk/g2gp/gis/index.asp
Internet Resources for GIS and History
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/
Internet Resources for GIS and History
http://www.davidrumsey.com/GIS/index.htm
Internet Resources for GIS and History
http://ecaimaps.berkeley.edu/clearinghouse/
Internet Resources for GIS and History
http://www.timemap.net/
Internet Resources for GIS and History
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/gis/
Internet Resources for GIS and History
http://www.geographynetwork.com/
Internet Resources for GIS and History
http://www.esri.com/library/journals/archaeology/index.html