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Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Geographic Information Systems and other mapping tools will help you locate, present, analyze, and interact with data that is geographically referenced.

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GIS, Maps and Spatial Thinking
We recommend you start your Geographic Information Systems (GIS) research by visiting this document.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Complex Mapping Projects in the Liberal Arts Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Class Projects requiring an intermediate level of investment of time and effort Cityscapes Project - Professors Sam Morse and Trent Maxy (Amherst College) are creating a web-mapping project to portray Tokyo and its reinventions in art, literature, and politics from the end of the Edo period to the present day as part of a (Re)Inventing Tokyo class.  The project uses Google maps to allow students to easily examine the physical changes in the city over time and add images of their own choosing to the map to illustrate the ideas examined in the course.  Students can examine individual builds, natural features or entire neighborhoods.  New locations can be added to the map by simply dragging the location icon on the right to the map and then filling out the form that pops up. Formosa - Dr. Doug Fix (Reed College) has established a digital library of images, text, and maps to characterize the island of Formosa (now Taiwan) in the 19th Century. The maps are served using ArcGIS software. With regard to his teaching activities, Dr. Fix is also interested in the field of "critical cartography" and is studying both maps and mapping practices to understand how they "relate to power relations, cartographic silences, and the interaction between human emotions/aesthetics and physical spaces". Event Maps - Dr. Alexander Nakhimovsky (Computer Science, Colgate) has collaborated with Tom Meyers (n-Topus Consulting)  to create a collaborative framework for representing sequences of events by annotated and timeline-controlled sequences of Google maps. The project offers a user guide and authoring guide for Event Maps. Virtual Burnham Initiative - At Lake Forest College a number of faculty and students have collaborated with community partners  to create a 3-D exploration of structures in Chicago based on the 1909 Plan of Chicago—by Daniel H. Burnham and Edward H. Bennett. Supported with assistance from NEH (article). Litmap Project - Barbara Hui, UCLA.   Litmap was created with the goal of enabling humanities scholars to read literature spatially – a mode of reading crucial to understanding contemporary literature and textuality at large today. The Litmap application aims to leverage the strengths of the digital computing platform to present literary narratives in a way that opens up spatial readings of those texts. Research Projects requiring significant investments of time and effort Digital Scholars Lab - University of Richmond. The Lab develops innovative digital humanities projects that contribute to research and teaching at and beyond the University of Richmond. It seeks to reach a wide audience by developing projects that integrate thoughtful interpretation in the humanities and social sciences with innovations in new media. The mapping projects include: Visualizing Emancipation Mapping Richmonds Slave Market Hidden Patterns of the Civil War The History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research - this project employs traditional GIS technology. See this Academic Commons article for more info. Voting America: United States Politics, 1840-2008  - this project employs traditional GIS technology Hypercities - A collaborative research and educational platform developed by UCLA and USC for traveling back in time to explore the historical layers of city spaces in an interactive, hypermedia environment. Built on Google Maps and Google Earth, HyperCities uses geo-referenced historical maps, 3D reconstructions, oral histories, historical photographs, and other forms of documentary evidence and data, to allow anyone to create “interpretative pathways” through time and space, unveiling layer after layer of history. HyperCities is an open-content platform, which means anyone can register and create collections. In this context, Hypercities is component of what the developers describe as the geotemporal web. Visual Eyes - From Shanti (Sciences, Humanities and Arts Network of Technological Initiatives) at UVA. This is a web-based authoring tool developed at the University of Virginia to weave images, maps, charts, video and data into highly interactive and compelling dynamic visualizations. VE projects include: Jefferson's Travels to England The Texas Slavery Project Vinegar Hill: a MemoryScape The Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard University has produced the following mapping projects: The World Map Project is built to assist academic research and teaching as well as the general public and supports discovery, investigation, analysis, visualization, communication and archiving of multi-disciplinary, multi-source and multi-format data, organized spatially and temporally. Includes the following Map databases: Africa Map, China Map, Boston Research Map, Paris Map, Vermont Map. This maps are used in courses as well as in research. Through the Looking Glass Darkly - Maps, data, and other resources recounting genocide in Rwanda from 1994 to present. Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Culture - a GIS based mapping platform that makes materials available for mapping and spatial analysis of Roman and medieval worlds from the first 1500 years of western Eurasia. See this Harvard Crimson article for additional information.  See the Peutinger Map at this site. Additional Projects in the Spatial Humanities Spatial Humanities - A project of the Institute for Enabling Geospatial Scholarship at the UVA Scholars lab that includes a number of user contributed projects, tutorials, and other resources. A Summary of Historical GIS Projects - A list of scholarly works catalogued by the Association of American Geographers. Many of the projects listed draw from web-mapping applications. [thanks to Sean Connin for collecting this material]
  • Curricular Ideas with Maps Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Wondering how to use maps in your classes or research? Here are a number of examples of interesting curricular ideas, teaching resources and innovative uses of maps of all sorts. Google Earth Outreach provides a platform for non-profits and public benefit organizations, helping them give geographic content to their stories. This site includes a Showcase of different topics, Community resources for organizations, and a number of excellent Tutorials. Stanford University hosts the Spatial History Project which  is "a place for a collaborative community of scholars to engage in creative visual analysis to further research in the field of history." The University of Virginia has created Visual Eyes which is a "web-based authoring tool" that "weave[s] images, maps, charts, video and data into highly interactive and compelling dynamic visualizations." Hamilton's own Barb Tewksbury presented a seminar on teaching GIS and Remote Sensing in 2010 at the On the Cutting Edge workshop. Although this program focuses on teaching geoscience, there are a number of tips and resources on teaching with GIS in general, including a list of ideal student outcomes. San Antonio College has a page of Web Mapping Modules which illustrate how to "bring GIS to the humanities." Students at Colby College have created the Atlas of Maine as part of their introductory GIS course. Students at Trinity College have created several Google mash-ups for their course on "Invisible Cities." Another project at Trinity College led to the creation of Smart Choices for school choice and the On The Line project, which studies "How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs." Students at Middlebury College have created a number of interesting maps in their Spatial Visualization course. Amherst College has started Cityscapes, an online discovery tool for urban and cultural studies. Academic Commons has an article on three projects at DePauw University to engage students with the  community through GIS. ESRI's ArcLessons "is a resource for you to share lessons for using GIS in the classroom." ESRI also features Case Studies of how GIS is used in a number of fields. The Duke University Teaching and Learning with Google Earth blog features lesson plans, articles, layers and more. For projects involving historical census data, try GIS for History, funded by the NEH, to "give history students and teachers the power ... to investigate critical moments in American history." The US Holocaust Museum uses Google Earth to map various aspects of the Holocaust and World War II. This site includes additional resources and bibliographies.
  • General Resources for Using GIS and Maps in Class Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Google Earth Outreach provides a platform for non-profits and public benefit organizations, helping them give geographic content to their stories. This site includes a Showcase of different topics, Community resources for organizations, and a number of excellent Tutorials. In Time and Place "is a growing library of teaching materials for classroom, distance, or home use focusing on selected topics in American history. You will find many traditional reading, map, and photo related resources, but you will also find GIS (Geographic Information System) data and activities as well." The Learning Network blog at The New York Times provides suggestions on how to teach various topics, including Ten Ways to Teach About Geography. There were also map-related topics in the Year-End Round-Up 2011 and the Year-End Round-Up 2010. Hamilton's own Barb Tewksbury presented a seminar on teaching GIS and Remote Sensing in 2010 at the On the Cutting Edge workshop. Although this program focuses on teaching geoscience, there are a number of tips and resources on teaching with GIS in general, including a list of ideal student outcomes. Academic Commons has an article on three projects at DePauw University to engage students with the  community through GIS. Jeremy Donald and Mike Winiski of Furman University have put together a blended learning module on data classification to "show you how to understand and use classification when both interpreting and creating maps." They include video tutorials, sample exercises, and a sample curriculum for this kind of work. ESRI's ArcLessons "is a resource for you to share lessons for using GIS in the classroom." ESRI also features Case Studies of how GIS is used in a number of fields. ESRI also assisted the the State of Virginia in creating Historical GIS Projects - Using GIS to Teach History which are ten lessons, complete with downloadable data, to help students learn aspects of US history by using GIS. Teach GIS is a new online community and resource for educators, "because no one should face GIS alone." The ESRI Spatial Roundtable for February featured a discussion on GIS in Education with contributions from dozens of educators. The Duke University Teaching and Learning with Google Earth blog features lesson plans, articles, layers and more.
  • Geographic Information Systems Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Hamilton provides access to ESRI's ArcGIS software in the public Windows labs and on faculty office/lab Windows computers.  We have ArcGIS 10 with several extensions such as Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst.  We also have a site license for ENVI, which is an application for processing and analyzing geospatial imagery.  Please contact DIS (x5347) for installation of this software and ITSS (x4877) for assistance with its use. Other GIS tools which you are free to explore on your own include: ArcGISExplorer Online is a free, simplified, and web-based version of ArcMap from ESRI Mapserver is an open-source platform for publishing spatial data and interactive mapping applications Quantum GIS is a user-friendly open-source Geographic Information System Clark Labs produces Idrisi Taiga and other land-modeling software (fee-based) Manifold is a visually-oriented alternate GIS (fee-based) MapInfo is a more business-oriented GIS (fee-based) GISCloud claims it is the "world's first full-featured web-based GIS powered by Cloud Computing" Ortelius is relatively inexpensive, visually stunning and ceated for the Macintosh Hamilton's resources for GIS support are somewhat limited at this time, but there are many online resources for learning about and using GIS.  See the great resources available at our GIS Support Resources page. There are many sources of geographic data on the Internet; please visit our GIS Data Sources page for some of the more interesting and/or reliable ones.
  • GIS and Mapping Blogs Geographic Information Systems (GIS) I tried not to create this page, but I couldn't resist.  I hope you can't resist these blogs, either! Google Earth and Google Maps related blogs Google Maps Mania Google Earth Blog Ogle Earth Blog (Google Earth and other virtual globes) Google Lat-Long Blog Google Earth Community Google Sightseeing Other Mapping Applications GIS Education Community hosted by ESRI (focussing on ArcGIS, ArcGISOnline, and general GIS topics) Bing Maps blog hosted by Microsoft Free and Open Source GIS Ramblings working with free and open source geographic information systems Paul Shapley's Open Source GIS blog Maps, Old and New Strange Maps cartographic curiosities from Frank Jacobs The Map Room (map entries now continue at Jonathan Crowe) The BIG Map Blog interesting maps, historical maps, BIG maps Geographicus Antique Map Blog antique maps and the rare map trade General Observations on Maps and GIS Borderlines commentary on curious  international borders from the NY Times Diana Maps from Diana Sinton, Director of Spatial Curriculum and Research at the University of Redlands The GIS Doctor geospatial analysis, interesting online mapping applications, GIS software ... Spatially Adjusted from the creator of Planet Geospatial AnyGeo anything geospatial from a GIS user for GISusers Mapperz UK-focused, but general news on maps and services Bit more commercial blogs ... All Points Blog at Directions Magazine/Media GIS Lounge
  • GIS Support Resources Geographic Information Systems (GIS) The ESRI Training Center offers a number of low-cost, on-line, self-paced courses and online certification programs. Sample software is occasionally available.  They also host the introductory website, GIS.com. Hamilton College, as part of its membership in NITLE (the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education), has access to their GIS expertise and resources. CSISS (at UC-Santa Barbara) offers SPACE workshops on GIS and spatial analysis, plus links to GIS literature. A Gentle Introduction to GIS uses the free and open-source Quantum GIS software, but the concepts are valid for any GIS. Visit the GIS Lounge of the American Association of Geographers for software, data, and other types of support. You might find some useful information at GIS Wiki. The GIS Cafe-Universities is another web community/clearinghouse for all kinds of GIS information and activity. Harvard College Library Map Collection maintains a page of cartography and GIS links, including professional organizations and journals. Speaking of journals, here are a couple: The Journal of Maps and Directions Magazine. Penn State Department of Geography has an online course, Nature of Geographic Information. There is also an online course on Spatial Analysis by the authors of the well-known text on geospatial analysis. Hamilton College is also part of the New York State GIS Clearinghouse, which features data pertaining to New York State and a Help Desk to assist users with technical issues. The Northeast Arc Users Group sponsors a yearly conference for all users of ESRI software in the Northeast. The NYS GIS Association sponsors an annual conference and provides updates about GIS activities across the state.
  • GIS, Maps and Spatial Thinking Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Welcome!  Geographic Information Systems and other mapping tools will help you locate, present, analyze, and interact with data that is geographically referenced.  These tools are used in many fields such as environmental studies, geography/geology, natural resources management, census data/demographics, public health, economics, history, and much, much more.   To get a sense of the broad reach of this methodology, visit our Map Site of the Month page (and come back for a new, fascinating site every month!). What does it mean to work with spatial data and concepts?  Find out something about spatial thinking and analysis. See what other colleges have done with innovative uses of maps and curricular ideas to get started thinking about how to incorporate maps and mapping tools into your classes. You can also look through the NITLE page on Small-Scale Projects in the Liberal Arts which showcases many examples of class projects. Looking for maps to use in your classes?  Browse through some of the great online map collections to see what's immediately available. Want your students to have the experience of creating their own maps?  Try out some of the fascinating online mapping tools to see more of what can be done with maps and mapping. Learn how to search for geographic data using an Internet Mapping Service.  These are online sites provided by national, international, federal, state and local government agencies to allow access to public data. Some NGOs and instructional sites also provide excellent resources. Most sites include a tutorial or "Getting Started" page that will show you most of the site's features in a very short period of time. Do you have data of your own that you'd like to map?  Then you may be able to create a "mash-up" with Google Maps or Google Earth.  Here's a page of Google resources, including links to helpful web services and very informative blogs and tutorials. If you need to manipulate or analyze data, then you are probably looking for a Geographic Information System.  We have some applications available on campus (such as ArcGIS or ENVI), but others are open-source or reasonably low-cost. All of these applications allow the importation or creation of geospatial data, the analysis of this data using various techniques (such as buffering or hillshade), and the layout of professional-quality maps. Learning how to use these applications will require many hours of instruction, however, so make sure that you really need these tools. For further information about GIS or using mapping resources in class, please contact course-support@hamilton.edu, or call 4877.
  • Google Maps and Google Earth Geographic Information Systems (GIS) What can I do with Google Maps/Earth? The Google Earth Outreach site includes a Showcase of different types of maps. Here are a few sample class projects (the first four are in Google Earth): Archaeological Sites in Peru - Ancient peruvian dwellings and roads preserved in an arid environment. Portsmouth Mounds -  Native American mound-builders site in Ohio. Shackleton's Journey - a timeline representation of Shackleton's journey and diary entries. Odysseus - geographic locations for the ancient tale. Pompeii Italy Ruins - A Google Map visualization that utilizes street view to create an immersive exploration experience. See the range of what you can do with "50 Things to do with Google Maps" or "50 MORE Things to do with Google Maps" (both from the blog Google Maps Mania). A number of cities are putting themselves into Google Earth, such as:  the City of Portland; Victorian London; and the City of Berlin. The Thematic Mapping Engine allows you to create a file of UN data which can be viewed in Google Earth. How to put your data into Google Maps or Google Earth Google Maps includes the "My Places" tab, which allows users to drag-and-drop points onto a map and add photos, descriptions and links. Additionally, there is an "Add Content" service which enables one to add map layers created by others.  All this and more is explained in their Help Guide. Some web services enable you to enter your data into a Google Map and display it on your website or create a link to it on the host's site: Plug-and-Play Maps "lets you create engaging, interactive thematic maps in your web pages with 1 short line of code." ZeeMaps enables you to create maps with your own locational data (including uploading an Excel file, for example for a large number of addresses). YourGMap has a nice user interface for entering data with several options for displaying the maps in your website. Wayfaring is another possible Google mapping service. If you have a large number of addresses that need to be validated, you can use Batch Geocode, which can produce a file for either Google Maps or Google Earth. Learn how to create a virtual tour in Google Earth or other topics through GE videos. Many sites will help you to map your photos to their geographic locations; Google Maps Mania posted a comprehensive listing of these services. Great for that summer road trip! Google Earth has a fantastic User Guide which will show you not only how to use GE but also how to create your own layers of interesting places. Here is a very detailed Google Maps API Tutorial which will enable you create your own interactive maps using the Google API but does require Javascripting experience. If you feel confident about programming, you might also want to look at the Google tutorial on KML. Links to Google Maps, Google Earth, basic help: Google Maps Maps, directions, satellite imagery Google Earth Explore, search and discover ... in 3D Google APIs The "official" Google website for building your own maps If you are not familiar with Google Maps or what it can do, here is help for Google Maps. And here is the product tour for Google Earth. There is actually more than one blog dedicated to Google Maps and Google Earth. Who knew? Google Sightseeing Google Maps Mania Google Earth Community Google Earth Blog Ogle Earth Blog (Google Earth and other virtual globes) Google Lat-Long Blog View DHi Student Sample Locations in a larger map
  • Hurricane Katrina and Other Natural Disasters Geographic Information Systems (GIS) General Disaster Response Resources ESRI provides a Disaster Response Resource web site for all types of disasters -- wildfires, earthquakes, flooding, etc. Hurricane Katrina Not originally focused on hurricanes, the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center now includes updates for Katrina in addition to their extensive collection of mapped census data. The Times-Picayune has a detailed animation of the hour-by-hour Flooding of New Orleans (you will need Flash on your computer to view this). Find news, maps and images in the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank. The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (UT/Austin) has developed an extensive clearinghouse of Katrina related images and maps. This web site is a phenomenal resource. FEMA has posted ESRI-readable Katrina shape files (for import into a GIS). The New York Times's own interactive multimedia on the Impact of Hurricane Katrina features several maps prepared with GIS. Google Earth's Katrina-related imagery Government resources: NASA and NOAA Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
  • Internet Mapping Services Geographic Information Systems (GIS) An Internet Mapping Service allows government and other agencies to provide access to maps and other data  through a web site.  This information can be viewed online or often downloaded as data layers for other maps. National and International Internet Mapping Services ESRI's ArcGIS.com provides access to many types of geographic content world-wide, including dynamic maps, interest groups, and more advanced Web services. One can also access a web-based version of ArcExplorer here. The USGS provides national and international resources in the Seamless Data Distribution System. Federal Government Internet Mapping Services The Department of the Interior's Geospatial One-Stop Portal is your one stop for federal, state and local geographic data, featuring the National Map. Access census data easily via the American Factfinder map viewer, provided by the Census Bureau.  American Fact Finder's Maps and Geography section allows one to create reference or thematic maps. There is a very clear explanation of census geography and a tutorial on creating and using maps. Create and print your own map at The National Atlas -- billed as "the single best Federal source for national maps and geographic information on the Web." The USGS manages the National Map -- "the nation's topographic map for the 21st century." State and Metropolitan Internet Mapping Services Almost every state and large metropolitan area now has an internet mapping service to provide public access to geospatial data collected at the taxpayers' expense. Your best approach is to search (for example, using Google or other search engine of your choice) for the phrase "GIS" and whatever state or locality you are interested in.  Some state departments might have their own services, such as the NYS DEC Mapping Gateway. For example, a search for "GIS and Chicago" will result in (among others) the City of Chicago GIS page. If you perform the same search with the search terms "GIS" and "Boston," you will discover that all Boston information is simply part of Massachusetts GIS, a state agency. As a final example, here is an entire page of IMS sites found by looking for information on New York City and GIS. Thematically-Related Internet Mapping Services One may also find a wealth of information by looking for mapping resources related to a particular event or theme. For example, here is a page of resources on Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Coast. (Incidentally, you can expect that any large natural event such as a hurricane or earthquake will be covered by relevant government agencies such as NOAA, FEMA, NASA, USGS, etc., not to mention independent efforts, such as How Big is the Gulf Oil Spill?)
  • Map Site of the Month Geographic Information Systems (GIS) March 2013 Site of the Month The Atlas of Urban Expansion provides the geographic and quantitative dimensions of urban expansion and its key attributes in cities the world over. Map sections include urban land cover and historical samples, plus data for downloading. --> February 2013 Site of the Month The Atlas of Urban Expansion provides the geographic and quantitative dimensions of urban expansion and its key attributes in cities the world over. Map sections include urban land cover and historical samples, plus data for downloading. January 2013 Site of the Month Along with other map-related multimedia, have fun exploring the Mapping America: Every City, Every Block tool hosted by the New York Times. This maps local data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for the entire country in several categories. December 2012 Site of the Month GIS professionals and amateurs assist with disaster response and recovery efforts, as seen in the wake of Hurricane Sandy at ESRI, Google, Crisis Commons, and other NYC resources.  The New York Times' coverage included Hurricane Sandy and Coastal Flooding maps. November 2012 Site of the Month To demonstrate how maps can inform, educate and inspire, ESRI features samples of "story maps" at Storytelling with Maps. There is also a tutorial on using ArcGISOnline for creating story maps at the ArcGIS Resources communities page (which includes another gallery of maps). October 2012 Site of the Month NOAA has an entire web site devoted to climate change, including an interesting series of images and videos documenting changes over time, many of which feature mapped data. A nice example of the immediacy of the visual representation of data. September 2012 Site of the Month The USGS is in the process of digitizing its entire collection of historical topographic maps. Wow! This is just one aspect of what's available at The National Map, which features professional-level tools at the National Atlas or with the National Map Viewer. August 2012 Site of the Month Our "back to school" edition features our own pages of resources related to spatial thinking and mapping exercises. Newly-revamped pages include: online map collections; map-related teaching resources; sample student mapping projects; and spatial thinking and analysis. July 2012 Site of the Month The hot summer brings Climate Data Online, a nifty interactive map tool from NOAA to help you understand the current drought and other climate issues. You can search by geographic regions, climate themes and various observational data. June 2012 Site of the Month An amazing collection of over 700 maps, the Language and Location - Map Accessibility Project "is a digital mapping project that integrates language data and information from the physical and social sciences." In addition, you can create maps from your own data. May 2012 Site of the Month Just in time for the primaries, we have Redistricting and You, developed by the CUNY Center for Urban Research (the same outfit who brought you OASIS). These maps allow you to compare the major proposals with existing districts and with each other. Check out the slider bar for comparing current and proposed districts! April 2012 Site of the Month For Earth Day you can examine the EPA's new Greenhouse Gas Emissions map, which can be searched by location or facility and filtered by gas or emission range. The Earth Day 2012 Event Finder will help you find something to do for Earth Day (or create your own event). March 2012 Site of the Month Just released by JISC, we have Old Maps Online, which will "act as a central repository to a vast collection of maps held by institutions across the globe."   And when you access the site, it initializes to your location. Cool! February 2012 Site of the Month Many institutions are producing web sites featuring a geo-referenced map serving as an interface through which one can explore a database of information. One fascinating example is the Nolli Map Engine from the University of Oregon, featuring a 1748 map of Rome. January 2012 Site of the Month Do you like "going up north"? The Adirondack Park Agency is one of many New York State agencies that produce maps and data layers free to the public. Don't forget to look for "maps," "GIS" or "data layers" whenever you browse a state agency website. December 2011 Site of the Month The CUNY Center for Urban Research recently released Demographic Change in Metropolitan America, which uses census data to map neighborhood changes between 2000 and 2010 for Manhattan and 15 other metropolitan areas. These maps feature slider bars to help visualize change between one time period and the next. Beautiful work! November 2011 Site of the Month If it's November, it must be GIS Day! Sponsored by the National Geographic Society and many other organizations, GIS Day provides an international forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society. October 2011 Site of the Month The blog Strange Maps might appear to be just an amusing demonstration of how to represent different themes on a map; but the examples will get you thinking about how information can be displayed spatially. For a similar mental exercise, check out the visual information sites at the bottom of our Spatial Thinking page. September 2011 Site of the Month OASISNYC is a wonderful example of community mapping -- in this case, for New York City. OASIS strives to help the public develop a better understanding of their environment with interactive maps of open spaces, property information, transportation networks, and more (check out the timeline series of lower Manhattan development). August 2011 Site of the Month Time to start thinking about how to incorporate spatial thinking and mapping exercises into your fall courses! Get those innovative juices flowing at our GIS in the Liberal Arts page, a widely-varied collection of classroom examples put together by Sean Connin (formerly of NITLE). July 2011 Site of the Month Penn State has produced the Geospatial Revolution Project, which is an integrated public service media and outreach initiative about the world of digital mapping and how it is changing the way we think, behave, and interact. June 2011 Site of the Month The NYS DEC Mapping Gateway is a nice example of state government online mapping resources. Take a look at the page of interactive mapping tools -- neat! May 2011 Site of the Month Google Earth -- not because you can zoom to your house, but for everything else: the Showcase; the Gallery; the Community; the Tutorials; the extensive Help; the blogs (and more blogs). And a special community just for Educators! And did I mention all the layers of data? April 2011 Site of the Month ESRI's ArcGIS Online offers both the easy-to-use My Map Viewer and the more fully-featured ArcExplorer Online, both connected to ESRI's extensive resources of free map layers. ArcExplorer includes a wonderful gallery of maps made and shared by others, so get inspired! March 2011 Site of the Month The New York Public Library's Maps Division developed the Map Warper, an online tool that allows the easy alignment of historical (mostly fire insurance) and digital maps.  Sign up and rectify a map yourself! February 2011 Site of the Month Stanford University hosts a multi-faceted Spatial History Project, which is "a place for a collaborative community of scholars to engage in creative visual analysis to further research in the field of history." January 2011 Site of the Month The new American FactFinder, hosted by the Census Bureau, is "your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data."  Beautifully redone and very easy to use!
  • New York City Maps and Mapping Resources Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Being the resource-rich metropolis that it is, NYC has a wealth of mapping resources of all varieties. Below are links to several good places to start and a special section on September 11. The New York City Map Portal provides you with access to New York City data and NYC.gov applications with address level data and maps. Find building, property, and community information as well as neighborhood statistics with ease. The NYC Datamine supplies many sets of public data produced by City agencies and other City organizations. The NYC Department of City Planning's data page, called BYTES of the Big Apple, has a number of layers of data and other files, most of which are free. The Virtual Terrain Project maintains an extensive (and opinionated) web site index to map and data resources for New York State and locations within the state, including extensive NYC sites and a special section on the World Trade Center. Thirty-two historical maps of New York City from 1776 to 1918 are now available for viewing as a special collection within the David Rumsey Map Collection. You will need to install a free browser plugin to view these maps. If you are feeling technically-inclined, you can read an article on the new New York City Base Map to learn what digital cartography is like these days. Here's an index of (mostly) historical maps of New York State maintained by the Stony Brook University Map Library. The New York State Museum offers many layers of map data on its GIS Datasets page. Hosted in the "cloud," but featuring data layers related to NYC, MapCloud is "a platform for sharing map data. Use our geographic web services to build location-based applications or to download data for other software." OASIS is a one-stop, interactive mapping resource to enhance the stewardship of open space for the benefit of all New York City residents. We are the New York City Open Accessible Space Information System cooperative. Resources on the Attacks of September 11, 2001 The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect and present the history of the attacks. Not a map service, but a worthy resource nonetheless, the 9-11 Oral History Project from the Columbia University Libraries consists of five projects and programs focusing on different areas of inquiry related to the aftermath of the destruction of the World Trade Center. GeoCommunity maintains a page of The Geospatial Industry's Response To Terrorism. A wonderful resource for all kinds of maps, the Perry-Castenada Map Collection at UT-Austin has a special collection of September 11th-related maps. The Library of Congress maintains a special page of September 11th-related acquisitions called Witness and Response, including the Geography and Map Division. The Smithsonian Institute also has a number of maps related to September 11th at their web site, Bearing Witness to History. Find architectural information and photographs of the World Trade Center at Great Buildings Online.
  • Online Map Collections Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Burke Library provides access to A to Z Maps Online -- thousands of maps royalty-free to view, download or print (in several ready-to-use formats, including Powerpoint- and PDF-ready sizes). The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection has hundreds of fascinating examples of old maps. The Map Division of the New York Public Library has an extensive Digital Gallery of old maps which you can browse online via a nice mapviewer. The British Library sponsored an exhibition of Magnificent Maps in 2010 which are still accessible online. The Harvard College Library Map Collection boasts "one of the oldest and largest collections of cartographic materials in the United States with over 500,000 items." The Perry-Castaneda Map Collection at UT/Austin includes an up-to-date topical selection of maps related to current events.  This site also includes an extensive clearinghouse of online maps at other institutions. Stanford University hosts the Spatial History Project which  is "a place for a collaborative community of scholars to engage in creative visual analysis to further research in the field of history." Their Gallery includes a number of stunning animated maps and other tools. The ECAI Cultural Atlas Portal showcases cultural atlases searchable by countries, regions, or cities. The Globalis Interactive World Map provides gazetteer-like information in an on-line, interactive format. The World Mapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. The World Freedom Atlas is a geovisualization tool for statistics related to human rights and good governance. The Poverty Mapping site "provides spatial representations of poverty assessments" worldwide. Could you resist a blog devoted to Strange Maps? Someone decided to visit and take a picture of each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world; you can join up and contribute at the Degree Confluence Project.
  • Online Mapping Tools Geographic Information Systems (GIS) ESRI's ArcGIS Online includes both a web-based map viewer connected to ESRI's rich gallery of maps AND the more fully-featured ArcExplorer Online for more in-depth analysis. Geocommons "enables everyone to find, use and share geographic data and maps. Easily create rich interactive visualizations to solve problems without any experience using traditional mapping tools." CIESIN/The Beacon Institute has developed The Hudson River Watershed Mapper. The New York Public Library's Maps Division developed the Map Warper, an online tool that allows the easy alignment of historical (mostly fire insurance) and digital maps. This alignment allows one to connect historical maps to many other sources of data to further the analysis of the history of New York City and environs. Ushahidi is an example of a crowd-sourced disaster response system, with examples from Haiti and Kenya. The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative is a cooperative project to assist scholars working with cultural data through time. Social Explorer provides easy access to demographic information about the United States from 1790 to the present. Another tool for census data exploration via mapping is the Historical Census Browser from UVA Library. One may also explore census data and demographic trends with Census Scope, brought to you by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan. The free map viewer Celestia "lets you explore our universe in three dimensions." Another product is SkylineGlobe, a free viewer which is part of a suite of products which enable manipulation of 3D data. NASA also has a free map viewer WorldWind which is open-source. There is an extensive documentation site at WorldWind Central. Microsoft's search tool, Bing, includes maps and allows lookup of any address or landmark with digital imagery. Open Street Map is "a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you ... [it] allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth." Policy Map "is a fully web-based Geographic Information System. It's fast, efficient and captures data in visually powerful ways through custom demographic maps, tables, reports and our analysis tool, Analytics." (fee-based) Axismaps offers custom mapping services and interactive map hosting (fee-based) plus some free resouces.
  • Sources for Geographic Data Geographic Information Systems (GIS) World NASA and the University of Maryland maintain the Global Land Cover Facility which collects satellite data on land cover for the entire world. NASA and CIESEN/Columbia University maintain the World Data Center which "provides access to a wide range of global data, associated documentation, and visualization and analysis tools, and to the community of experts on global data." A-to-Z Maps Online (accessed via Burke Library) includes a GIS Data tab with a number of sub-menus categorizing hundreds of GIS data sources. The World Bank's Data and Research portal provides a wide variety of data, some of which is geographic. The World Bank's Open Data Initiative includes an online data catalog with data in formats such as Excel. United States The Department of the Interior maintains a Geospatial One-Stop Portal for federal, state and local geographic data. The Federal Geographic Data Committee coordinates the sharing of geographic data through an online portal that searches metadata held within the NSDI Clearinghouse network. The Census Bureau maintains the American Factfinder website, from which one can download census data in GIS-readable format. For historical census data, visit the National Historical Geographic Information System, housed at the University of Minnesota. DataPlace "is your free online source for housing and demographic data about your community, your region, and the nation." ESRI maintains a website of downloadable data, including data which is free of charge (such as US Census TIGER/Line files). Hamilton's own Dave Tewksbury provided the extensive and carefully-vetted list of GIS sources for all states on the SERC-Carleton web site.  Thanks, Dave! New York State New York State data is maintained by the New York State GIS Clearinghouse.   Another neat site, also maintainted by New York State, is NYS Orthos. The Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository is also a clearinghouse for information about New York State. The New York State Museum provides a nice collection of datasets for New York State. Links to GIS Data Provided by Research Universities The University of Oregon, by state, also electronic atlases UNC GIS Data Finder, by themes (e.g., social, economic) MIT GIS Services Michigan State Libraries Georgia State University GIS Research Guides Stanford University Websites for Digital GIS Data Duke University Data and GIS Services GIS @ University of Chicago University of Colorado Cornell University Mann Library GIS Data Sources Tufts University Geospatial Data Repository UC Santa Barbara Globetrotter Miscellaneous and Commercial Sources The American Association of Geographers has lists of databases, maps & atlases, historical gazetteers and GIS. The Geocommunity website bills itself as the "premier on-line resource for GIS and geospatial data." New Urban Research, Inc., provides some data and shapefiles for free and some for a small charge at Primary Data Source. Econdata Data Collections includes a section of links to mapping resources.
  • Spatial Thinking and Analysis Geographic Information Systems (GIS) What is Spatial Thinking and Analysis? ESRI's GIS.com is a great "getting started" web site which explains what GIS is and how and where these tools are used. In addition, the web site offers resources such as sample mapping software, free e-books and resources for learning GIS (Geographic Information Systems). TeachSpatial is 1) a spatial window into the National Science Digital Library; 2) a site about spatial thinking; 3) a community of interest; and 4) a collection of directories of publications and links on spatial topics. ESRI's Education Curriculum Development Manager has written an article on "Developing Spatial Thinking Skills in Education and Society" which offers several useful definitions of spatial skills. For a fun introduction to cartography, visit Cartography 2.0, which is a "free online knowledge base and e-textbook for students and professionals interested in interactive and animated maps." Find a good introduction to mapping, sample uses of the technology, strategies for collecting data, and more, with The Illustrated Guide to Nonprofit GIS and Online Mapping. From SERC at Carleton College, browse a collection of resources related to understanding spatial thinking in the geosciences. Here is a tutorial on Spatial Thinking from Columbia University which addresses the issue of "why some students have trouble with maps and spatial representations." Penn State University is producing The Geospatial Revolution, "an integrated public service media and outreach initiative about the world of digital mapping and how it is changing the way we think, behave, and interact." The following sites might help you to think about visualizing information: Information is Beautiful; EagerEyes; FlowingData; GapMinder; and Infosthetics. For the more technically-minded, Penn State offers an online course, "The Nature of Geographic Information." The foundational text on Geospatial Analysis is now available online in several different formats.
Maps
  • Complex Mapping Projects in the Liberal Arts Maps Class Projects requiring an intermediate level of investment of time and effort Cityscapes Project - Professors Sam Morse and Trent Maxy (Amherst College) are creating a web-mapping project to portray Tokyo and its reinventions in art, literature, and politics from the end of the Edo period to the present day as part of a (Re)Inventing Tokyo class.  The project uses Google maps to allow students to easily examine the physical changes in the city over time and add images of their own choosing to the map to illustrate the ideas examined in the course.  Students can examine individual builds, natural features or entire neighborhoods.  New locations can be added to the map by simply dragging the location icon on the right to the map and then filling out the form that pops up. Formosa - Dr. Doug Fix (Reed College) has established a digital library of images, text, and maps to characterize the island of Formosa (now Taiwan) in the 19th Century. The maps are served using ArcGIS software. With regard to his teaching activities, Dr. Fix is also interested in the field of "critical cartography" and is studying both maps and mapping practices to understand how they "relate to power relations, cartographic silences, and the interaction between human emotions/aesthetics and physical spaces". Event Maps - Dr. Alexander Nakhimovsky (Computer Science, Colgate) has collaborated with Tom Meyers (n-Topus Consulting)  to create a collaborative framework for representing sequences of events by annotated and timeline-controlled sequences of Google maps. The project offers a user guide and authoring guide for Event Maps. Virtual Burnham Initiative - At Lake Forest College a number of faculty and students have collaborated with community partners  to create a 3-D exploration of structures in Chicago based on the 1909 Plan of Chicago—by Daniel H. Burnham and Edward H. Bennett. Supported with assistance from NEH (article). Litmap Project - Barbara Hui, UCLA.   Litmap was created with the goal of enabling humanities scholars to read literature spatially – a mode of reading crucial to understanding contemporary literature and textuality at large today. The Litmap application aims to leverage the strengths of the digital computing platform to present literary narratives in a way that opens up spatial readings of those texts. Research Projects requiring significant investments of time and effort Digital Scholars Lab - University of Richmond. The Lab develops innovative digital humanities projects that contribute to research and teaching at and beyond the University of Richmond. It seeks to reach a wide audience by developing projects that integrate thoughtful interpretation in the humanities and social sciences with innovations in new media. The mapping projects include: Visualizing Emancipation Mapping Richmonds Slave Market Hidden Patterns of the Civil War The History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research - this project employs traditional GIS technology. See this Academic Commons article for more info. Voting America: United States Politics, 1840-2008  - this project employs traditional GIS technology Hypercities - A collaborative research and educational platform developed by UCLA and USC for traveling back in time to explore the historical layers of city spaces in an interactive, hypermedia environment. Built on Google Maps and Google Earth, HyperCities uses geo-referenced historical maps, 3D reconstructions, oral histories, historical photographs, and other forms of documentary evidence and data, to allow anyone to create “interpretative pathways” through time and space, unveiling layer after layer of history. HyperCities is an open-content platform, which means anyone can register and create collections. In this context, Hypercities is component of what the developers describe as the geotemporal web. Visual Eyes - From Shanti (Sciences, Humanities and Arts Network of Technological Initiatives) at UVA. This is a web-based authoring tool developed at the University of Virginia to weave images, maps, charts, video and data into highly interactive and compelling dynamic visualizations. VE projects include: Jefferson's Travels to England The Texas Slavery Project Vinegar Hill: a MemoryScape The Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard University has produced the following mapping projects: The World Map Project is built to assist academic research and teaching as well as the general public and supports discovery, investigation, analysis, visualization, communication and archiving of multi-disciplinary, multi-source and multi-format data, organized spatially and temporally. Includes the following Map databases: Africa Map, China Map, Boston Research Map, Paris Map, Vermont Map. This maps are used in courses as well as in research. Through the Looking Glass Darkly - Maps, data, and other resources recounting genocide in Rwanda from 1994 to present. Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Culture - a GIS based mapping platform that makes materials available for mapping and spatial analysis of Roman and medieval worlds from the first 1500 years of western Eurasia. See this Harvard Crimson article for additional information.  See the Peutinger Map at this site. Additional Projects in the Spatial Humanities Spatial Humanities - A project of the Institute for Enabling Geospatial Scholarship at the UVA Scholars lab that includes a number of user contributed projects, tutorials, and other resources. A Summary of Historical GIS Projects - A list of scholarly works catalogued by the Association of American Geographers. Many of the projects listed draw from web-mapping applications. [thanks to Sean Connin for collecting this material]
  • Curricular Ideas with Maps Maps Wondering how to use maps in your classes or research? Here are a number of examples of interesting curricular ideas, teaching resources and innovative uses of maps of all sorts. Google Earth Outreach provides a platform for non-profits and public benefit organizations, helping them give geographic content to their stories. This site includes a Showcase of different topics, Community resources for organizations, and a number of excellent Tutorials. Stanford University hosts the Spatial History Project which  is "a place for a collaborative community of scholars to engage in creative visual analysis to further research in the field of history." The University of Virginia has created Visual Eyes which is a "web-based authoring tool" that "weave[s] images, maps, charts, video and data into highly interactive and compelling dynamic visualizations." Hamilton's own Barb Tewksbury presented a seminar on teaching GIS and Remote Sensing in 2010 at the On the Cutting Edge workshop. Although this program focuses on teaching geoscience, there are a number of tips and resources on teaching with GIS in general, including a list of ideal student outcomes. San Antonio College has a page of Web Mapping Modules which illustrate how to "bring GIS to the humanities." Students at Colby College have created the Atlas of Maine as part of their introductory GIS course. Students at Trinity College have created several Google mash-ups for their course on "Invisible Cities." Another project at Trinity College led to the creation of Smart Choices for school choice and the On The Line project, which studies "How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs." Students at Middlebury College have created a number of interesting maps in their Spatial Visualization course. Amherst College has started Cityscapes, an online discovery tool for urban and cultural studies. Academic Commons has an article on three projects at DePauw University to engage students with the  community through GIS. ESRI's ArcLessons "is a resource for you to share lessons for using GIS in the classroom." ESRI also features Case Studies of how GIS is used in a number of fields. The Duke University Teaching and Learning with Google Earth blog features lesson plans, articles, layers and more. For projects involving historical census data, try GIS for History, funded by the NEH, to "give history students and teachers the power ... to investigate critical moments in American history." The US Holocaust Museum uses Google Earth to map various aspects of the Holocaust and World War II. This site includes additional resources and bibliographies.
  • Geographic Information Systems Maps Hamilton provides access to ESRI's ArcGIS software in the public Windows labs and on faculty office/lab Windows computers.  We have ArcGIS 10 with several extensions such as Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst.  We also have a site license for ENVI, which is an application for processing and analyzing geospatial imagery.  Please contact DIS (x5347) for installation of this software and ITSS (x4877) for assistance with its use. Other GIS tools which you are free to explore on your own include: ArcGISExplorer Online is a free, simplified, and web-based version of ArcMap from ESRI Mapserver is an open-source platform for publishing spatial data and interactive mapping applications Quantum GIS is a user-friendly open-source Geographic Information System Clark Labs produces Idrisi Taiga and other land-modeling software (fee-based) Manifold is a visually-oriented alternate GIS (fee-based) MapInfo is a more business-oriented GIS (fee-based) GISCloud claims it is the "world's first full-featured web-based GIS powered by Cloud Computing" Ortelius is relatively inexpensive, visually stunning and ceated for the Macintosh Hamilton's resources for GIS support are somewhat limited at this time, but there are many online resources for learning about and using GIS.  See the great resources available at our GIS Support Resources page. There are many sources of geographic data on the Internet; please visit our GIS Data Sources page for some of the more interesting and/or reliable ones.
  • GIS and Mapping Blogs Maps I tried not to create this page, but I couldn't resist.  I hope you can't resist these blogs, either! Google Earth and Google Maps related blogs Google Maps Mania Google Earth Blog Ogle Earth Blog (Google Earth and other virtual globes) Google Lat-Long Blog Google Earth Community Google Sightseeing Other Mapping Applications GIS Education Community hosted by ESRI (focussing on ArcGIS, ArcGISOnline, and general GIS topics) Bing Maps blog hosted by Microsoft Free and Open Source GIS Ramblings working with free and open source geographic information systems Paul Shapley's Open Source GIS blog Maps, Old and New Strange Maps cartographic curiosities from Frank Jacobs The Map Room (map entries now continue at Jonathan Crowe) The BIG Map Blog interesting maps, historical maps, BIG maps Geographicus Antique Map Blog antique maps and the rare map trade General Observations on Maps and GIS Borderlines commentary on curious  international borders from the NY Times Diana Maps from Diana Sinton, Director of Spatial Curriculum and Research at the University of Redlands The GIS Doctor geospatial analysis, interesting online mapping applications, GIS software ... Spatially Adjusted from the creator of Planet Geospatial AnyGeo anything geospatial from a GIS user for GISusers Mapperz UK-focused, but general news on maps and services Bit more commercial blogs ... All Points Blog at Directions Magazine/Media GIS Lounge
  • GIS Support Resources Maps The ESRI Training Center offers a number of low-cost, on-line, self-paced courses and online certification programs. Sample software is occasionally available.  They also host the introductory website, GIS.com. Hamilton College, as part of its membership in NITLE (the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education), has access to their GIS expertise and resources. CSISS (at UC-Santa Barbara) offers SPACE workshops on GIS and spatial analysis, plus links to GIS literature. A Gentle Introduction to GIS uses the free and open-source Quantum GIS software, but the concepts are valid for any GIS. Visit the GIS Lounge of the American Association of Geographers for software, data, and other types of support. You might find some useful information at GIS Wiki. The GIS Cafe-Universities is another web community/clearinghouse for all kinds of GIS information and activity. Harvard College Library Map Collection maintains a page of cartography and GIS links, including professional organizations and journals. Speaking of journals, here are a couple: The Journal of Maps and Directions Magazine. Penn State Department of Geography has an online course, Nature of Geographic Information. There is also an online course on Spatial Analysis by the authors of the well-known text on geospatial analysis. Hamilton College is also part of the New York State GIS Clearinghouse, which features data pertaining to New York State and a Help Desk to assist users with technical issues. The Northeast Arc Users Group sponsors a yearly conference for all users of ESRI software in the Northeast. The NYS GIS Association sponsors an annual conference and provides updates about GIS activities across the state.
  • GIS, Maps and Spatial Thinking Maps Welcome!  Geographic Information Systems and other mapping tools will help you locate, present, analyze, and interact with data that is geographically referenced.  These tools are used in many fields such as environmental studies, geography/geology, natural resources management, census data/demographics, public health, economics, history, and much, much more.   To get a sense of the broad reach of this methodology, visit our Map Site of the Month page (and come back for a new, fascinating site every month!). What does it mean to work with spatial data and concepts?  Find out something about spatial thinking and analysis. See what other colleges have done with innovative uses of maps and curricular ideas to get started thinking about how to incorporate maps and mapping tools into your classes. You can also look through the NITLE page on Small-Scale Projects in the Liberal Arts which showcases many examples of class projects. Looking for maps to use in your classes?  Browse through some of the great online map collections to see what's immediately available. Want your students to have the experience of creating their own maps?  Try out some of the fascinating online mapping tools to see more of what can be done with maps and mapping. Learn how to search for geographic data using an Internet Mapping Service.  These are online sites provided by national, international, federal, state and local government agencies to allow access to public data. Some NGOs and instructional sites also provide excellent resources. Most sites include a tutorial or "Getting Started" page that will show you most of the site's features in a very short period of time. Do you have data of your own that you'd like to map?  Then you may be able to create a "mash-up" with Google Maps or Google Earth.  Here's a page of Google resources, including links to helpful web services and very informative blogs and tutorials. If you need to manipulate or analyze data, then you are probably looking for a Geographic Information System.  We have some applications available on campus (such as ArcGIS or ENVI), but others are open-source or reasonably low-cost. All of these applications allow the importation or creation of geospatial data, the analysis of this data using various techniques (such as buffering or hillshade), and the layout of professional-quality maps. Learning how to use these applications will require many hours of instruction, however, so make sure that you really need these tools. For further information about GIS or using mapping resources in class, please contact course-support@hamilton.edu, or call 4877.
  • Google Maps and Google Earth Maps What can I do with Google Maps/Earth? The Google Earth Outreach site includes a Showcase of different types of maps. Here are a few sample class projects (the first four are in Google Earth): Archaeological Sites in Peru - Ancient peruvian dwellings and roads preserved in an arid environment. Portsmouth Mounds -  Native American mound-builders site in Ohio. Shackleton's Journey - a timeline representation of Shackleton's journey and diary entries. Odysseus - geographic locations for the ancient tale. Pompeii Italy Ruins - A Google Map visualization that utilizes street view to create an immersive exploration experience. See the range of what you can do with "50 Things to do with Google Maps" or "50 MORE Things to do with Google Maps" (both from the blog Google Maps Mania). A number of cities are putting themselves into Google Earth, such as:  the City of Portland; Victorian London; and the City of Berlin. The Thematic Mapping Engine allows you to create a file of UN data which can be viewed in Google Earth. How to put your data into Google Maps or Google Earth Google Maps includes the "My Places" tab, which allows users to drag-and-drop points onto a map and add photos, descriptions and links. Additionally, there is an "Add Content" service which enables one to add map layers created by others.  All this and more is explained in their Help Guide. Some web services enable you to enter your data into a Google Map and display it on your website or create a link to it on the host's site: Plug-and-Play Maps "lets you create engaging, interactive thematic maps in your web pages with 1 short line of code." ZeeMaps enables you to create maps with your own locational data (including uploading an Excel file, for example for a large number of addresses). YourGMap has a nice user interface for entering data with several options for displaying the maps in your website. Wayfaring is another possible Google mapping service. If you have a large number of addresses that need to be validated, you can use Batch Geocode, which can produce a file for either Google Maps or Google Earth. Learn how to create a virtual tour in Google Earth or other topics through GE videos. Many sites will help you to map your photos to their geographic locations; Google Maps Mania posted a comprehensive listing of these services. Great for that summer road trip! Google Earth has a fantastic User Guide which will show you not only how to use GE but also how to create your own layers of interesting places. Here is a very detailed Google Maps API Tutorial which will enable you create your own interactive maps using the Google API but does require Javascripting experience. If you feel confident about programming, you might also want to look at the Google tutorial on KML. Links to Google Maps, Google Earth, basic help: Google Maps Maps, directions, satellite imagery Google Earth Explore, search and discover ... in 3D Google APIs The "official" Google website for building your own maps If you are not familiar with Google Maps or what it can do, here is help for Google Maps. And here is the product tour for Google Earth. There is actually more than one blog dedicated to Google Maps and Google Earth. Who knew? Google Sightseeing Google Maps Mania Google Earth Community Google Earth Blog Ogle Earth Blog (Google Earth and other virtual globes) Google Lat-Long Blog View DHi Student Sample Locations in a larger map
  • Hurricane Katrina and Other Natural Disasters Maps General Disaster Response Resources ESRI provides a Disaster Response Resource web site for all types of disasters -- wildfires, earthquakes, flooding, etc. Hurricane Katrina Not originally focused on hurricanes, the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center now includes updates for Katrina in addition to their extensive collection of mapped census data. The Times-Picayune has a detailed animation of the hour-by-hour Flooding of New Orleans (you will need Flash on your computer to view this). Find news, maps and images in the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank. The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (UT/Austin) has developed an extensive clearinghouse of Katrina related images and maps. This web site is a phenomenal resource. FEMA has posted ESRI-readable Katrina shape files (for import into a GIS). The New York Times's own interactive multimedia on the Impact of Hurricane Katrina features several maps prepared with GIS. Google Earth's Katrina-related imagery Government resources: NASA and NOAA Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
  • Internet Mapping Services Maps An Internet Mapping Service allows government and other agencies to provide access to maps and other data  through a web site.  This information can be viewed online or often downloaded as data layers for other maps. National and International Internet Mapping Services ESRI's ArcGIS.com provides access to many types of geographic content world-wide, including dynamic maps, interest groups, and more advanced Web services. One can also access a web-based version of ArcExplorer here. The USGS provides national and international resources in the Seamless Data Distribution System. Federal Government Internet Mapping Services The Department of the Interior's Geospatial One-Stop Portal is your one stop for federal, state and local geographic data, featuring the National Map. Access census data easily via the American Factfinder map viewer, provided by the Census Bureau.  American Fact Finder's Maps and Geography section allows one to create reference or thematic maps. There is a very clear explanation of census geography and a tutorial on creating and using maps. Create and print your own map at The National Atlas -- billed as "the single best Federal source for national maps and geographic information on the Web." The USGS manages the National Map -- "the nation's topographic map for the 21st century." State and Metropolitan Internet Mapping Services Almost every state and large metropolitan area now has an internet mapping service to provide public access to geospatial data collected at the taxpayers' expense. Your best approach is to search (for example, using Google or other search engine of your choice) for the phrase "GIS" and whatever state or locality you are interested in.  Some state departments might have their own services, such as the NYS DEC Mapping Gateway. For example, a search for "GIS and Chicago" will result in (among others) the City of Chicago GIS page. If you perform the same search with the search terms "GIS" and "Boston," you will discover that all Boston information is simply part of Massachusetts GIS, a state agency. As a final example, here is an entire page of IMS sites found by looking for information on New York City and GIS. Thematically-Related Internet Mapping Services One may also find a wealth of information by looking for mapping resources related to a particular event or theme. For example, here is a page of resources on Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Coast. (Incidentally, you can expect that any large natural event such as a hurricane or earthquake will be covered by relevant government agencies such as NOAA, FEMA, NASA, USGS, etc., not to mention independent efforts, such as How Big is the Gulf Oil Spill?)
  • Map Site of the Month Maps March 2013 Site of the Month The Atlas of Urban Expansion provides the geographic and quantitative dimensions of urban expansion and its key attributes in cities the world over. Map sections include urban land cover and historical samples, plus data for downloading. --> February 2013 Site of the Month The Atlas of Urban Expansion provides the geographic and quantitative dimensions of urban expansion and its key attributes in cities the world over. Map sections include urban land cover and historical samples, plus data for downloading. January 2013 Site of the Month Along with other map-related multimedia, have fun exploring the Mapping America: Every City, Every Block tool hosted by the New York Times. This maps local data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for the entire country in several categories. December 2012 Site of the Month GIS professionals and amateurs assist with disaster response and recovery efforts, as seen in the wake of Hurricane Sandy at ESRI, Google, Crisis Commons, and other NYC resources.  The New York Times' coverage included Hurricane Sandy and Coastal Flooding maps. November 2012 Site of the Month To demonstrate how maps can inform, educate and inspire, ESRI features samples of "story maps" at Storytelling with Maps. There is also a tutorial on using ArcGISOnline for creating story maps at the ArcGIS Resources communities page (which includes another gallery of maps). October 2012 Site of the Month NOAA has an entire web site devoted to climate change, including an interesting series of images and videos documenting changes over time, many of which feature mapped data. A nice example of the immediacy of the visual representation of data. September 2012 Site of the Month The USGS is in the process of digitizing its entire collection of historical topographic maps. Wow! This is just one aspect of what's available at The National Map, which features professional-level tools at the National Atlas or with the National Map Viewer. August 2012 Site of the Month Our "back to school" edition features our own pages of resources related to spatial thinking and mapping exercises. Newly-revamped pages include: online map collections; map-related teaching resources; sample student mapping projects; and spatial thinking and analysis. July 2012 Site of the Month The hot summer brings Climate Data Online, a nifty interactive map tool from NOAA to help you understand the current drought and other climate issues. You can search by geographic regions, climate themes and various observational data. June 2012 Site of the Month An amazing collection of over 700 maps, the Language and Location - Map Accessibility Project "is a digital mapping project that integrates language data and information from the physical and social sciences." In addition, you can create maps from your own data. May 2012 Site of the Month Just in time for the primaries, we have Redistricting and You, developed by the CUNY Center for Urban Research (the same outfit who brought you OASIS). These maps allow you to compare the major proposals with existing districts and with each other. Check out the slider bar for comparing current and proposed districts! April 2012 Site of the Month For Earth Day you can examine the EPA's new Greenhouse Gas Emissions map, which can be searched by location or facility and filtered by gas or emission range. The Earth Day 2012 Event Finder will help you find something to do for Earth Day (or create your own event). March 2012 Site of the Month Just released by JISC, we have Old Maps Online, which will "act as a central repository to a vast collection of maps held by institutions across the globe."   And when you access the site, it initializes to your location. Cool! February 2012 Site of the Month Many institutions are producing web sites featuring a geo-referenced map serving as an interface through which one can explore a database of information. One fascinating example is the Nolli Map Engine from the University of Oregon, featuring a 1748 map of Rome. January 2012 Site of the Month Do you like "going up north"? The Adirondack Park Agency is one of many New York State agencies that produce maps and data layers free to the public. Don't forget to look for "maps," "GIS" or "data layers" whenever you browse a state agency website. December 2011 Site of the Month The CUNY Center for Urban Research recently released Demographic Change in Metropolitan America, which uses census data to map neighborhood changes between 2000 and 2010 for Manhattan and 15 other metropolitan areas. These maps feature slider bars to help visualize change between one time period and the next. Beautiful work! November 2011 Site of the Month If it's November, it must be GIS Day! Sponsored by the National Geographic Society and many other organizations, GIS Day provides an international forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society. October 2011 Site of the Month The blog Strange Maps might appear to be just an amusing demonstration of how to represent different themes on a map; but the examples will get you thinking about how information can be displayed spatially. For a similar mental exercise, check out the visual information sites at the bottom of our Spatial Thinking page. September 2011 Site of the Month OASISNYC is a wonderful example of community mapping -- in this case, for New York City. OASIS strives to help the public develop a better understanding of their environment with interactive maps of open spaces, property information, transportation networks, and more (check out the timeline series of lower Manhattan development). August 2011 Site of the Month Time to start thinking about how to incorporate spatial thinking and mapping exercises into your fall courses! Get those innovative juices flowing at our GIS in the Liberal Arts page, a widely-varied collection of classroom examples put together by Sean Connin (formerly of NITLE). July 2011 Site of the Month Penn State has produced the Geospatial Revolution Project, which is an integrated public service media and outreach initiative about the world of digital mapping and how it is changing the way we think, behave, and interact. June 2011 Site of the Month The NYS DEC Mapping Gateway is a nice example of state government online mapping resources. Take a look at the page of interactive mapping tools -- neat! May 2011 Site of the Month Google Earth -- not because you can zoom to your house, but for everything else: the Showcase; the Gallery; the Community; the Tutorials; the extensive Help; the blogs (and more blogs). And a special community just for Educators! And did I mention all the layers of data? April 2011 Site of the Month ESRI's ArcGIS Online offers both the easy-to-use My Map Viewer and the more fully-featured ArcExplorer Online, both connected to ESRI's extensive resources of free map layers. ArcExplorer includes a wonderful gallery of maps made and shared by others, so get inspired! March 2011 Site of the Month The New York Public Library's Maps Division developed the Map Warper, an online tool that allows the easy alignment of historical (mostly fire insurance) and digital maps.  Sign up and rectify a map yourself! February 2011 Site of the Month Stanford University hosts a multi-faceted Spatial History Project, which is "a place for a collaborative community of scholars to engage in creative visual analysis to further research in the field of history." January 2011 Site of the Month The new American FactFinder, hosted by the Census Bureau, is "your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data."  Beautifully redone and very easy to use!
  • New York City Maps and Mapping Resources Maps Being the resource-rich metropolis that it is, NYC has a wealth of mapping resources of all varieties. Below are links to several good places to start and a special section on September 11. The New York City Map Portal provides you with access to New York City data and NYC.gov applications with address level data and maps. Find building, property, and community information as well as neighborhood statistics with ease. The NYC Datamine supplies many sets of public data produced by City agencies and other City organizations. The NYC Department of City Planning's data page, called BYTES of the Big Apple, has a number of layers of data and other files, most of which are free. The Virtual Terrain Project maintains an extensive (and opinionated) web site index to map and data resources for New York State and locations within the state, including extensive NYC sites and a special section on the World Trade Center. Thirty-two historical maps of New York City from 1776 to 1918 are now available for viewing as a special collection within the David Rumsey Map Collection. You will need to install a free browser plugin to view these maps. If you are feeling technically-inclined, you can read an article on the new New York City Base Map to learn what digital cartography is like these days. Here's an index of (mostly) historical maps of New York State maintained by the Stony Brook University Map Library. The New York State Museum offers many layers of map data on its GIS Datasets page. Hosted in the "cloud," but featuring data layers related to NYC, MapCloud is "a platform for sharing map data. Use our geographic web services to build location-based applications or to download data for other software." OASIS is a one-stop, interactive mapping resource to enhance the stewardship of open space for the benefit of all New York City residents. We are the New York City Open Accessible Space Information System cooperative. Resources on the Attacks of September 11, 2001 The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect and present the history of the attacks. Not a map service, but a worthy resource nonetheless, the 9-11 Oral History Project from the Columbia University Libraries consists of five projects and programs focusing on different areas of inquiry related to the aftermath of the destruction of the World Trade Center. GeoCommunity maintains a page of The Geospatial Industry's Response To Terrorism. A wonderful resource for all kinds of maps, the Perry-Castenada Map Collection at UT-Austin has a special collection of September 11th-related maps. The Library of Congress maintains a special page of September 11th-related acquisitions called Witness and Response, including the Geography and Map Division. The Smithsonian Institute also has a number of maps related to September 11th at their web site, Bearing Witness to History. Find architectural information and photographs of the World Trade Center at Great Buildings Online.
  • Online Map Collections Maps Burke Library provides access to A to Z Maps Online -- thousands of maps royalty-free to view, download or print (in several ready-to-use formats, including Powerpoint- and PDF-ready sizes). The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection has hundreds of fascinating examples of old maps. The Map Division of the New York Public Library has an extensive Digital Gallery of old maps which you can browse online via a nice mapviewer. The British Library sponsored an exhibition of Magnificent Maps in 2010 which are still accessible online. The Harvard College Library Map Collection boasts "one of the oldest and largest collections of cartographic materials in the United States with over 500,000 items." The Perry-Castaneda Map Collection at UT/Austin includes an up-to-date topical selection of maps related to current events.  This site also includes an extensive clearinghouse of online maps at other institutions. Stanford University hosts the Spatial History Project which  is "a place for a collaborative community of scholars to engage in creative visual analysis to further research in the field of history." Their Gallery includes a number of stunning animated maps and other tools. The ECAI Cultural Atlas Portal showcases cultural atlases searchable by countries, regions, or cities. The Globalis Interactive World Map provides gazetteer-like information in an on-line, interactive format. The World Mapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. The World Freedom Atlas is a geovisualization tool for statistics related to human rights and good governance. The Poverty Mapping site "provides spatial representations of poverty assessments" worldwide. Could you resist a blog devoted to Strange Maps? Someone decided to visit and take a picture of each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world; you can join up and contribute at the Degree Confluence Project.
  • Online Mapping Tools Maps ESRI's ArcGIS Online includes both a web-based map viewer connected to ESRI's rich gallery of maps AND the more fully-featured ArcExplorer Online for more in-depth analysis. Geocommons "enables everyone to find, use and share geographic data and maps. Easily create rich interactive visualizations to solve problems without any experience using traditional mapping tools." CIESIN/The Beacon Institute has developed The Hudson River Watershed Mapper. The New York Public Library's Maps Division developed the Map Warper, an online tool that allows the easy alignment of historical (mostly fire insurance) and digital maps. This alignment allows one to connect historical maps to many other sources of data to further the analysis of the history of New York City and environs. Ushahidi is an example of a crowd-sourced disaster response system, with examples from Haiti and Kenya. The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative is a cooperative project to assist scholars working with cultural data through time. Social Explorer provides easy access to demographic information about the United States from 1790 to the present. Another tool for census data exploration via mapping is the Historical Census Browser from UVA Library. One may also explore census data and demographic trends with Census Scope, brought to you by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan. The free map viewer Celestia "lets you explore our universe in three dimensions." Another product is SkylineGlobe, a free viewer which is part of a suite of products which enable manipulation of 3D data. NASA also has a free map viewer WorldWind which is open-source. There is an extensive documentation site at WorldWind Central. Microsoft's search tool, Bing, includes maps and allows lookup of any address or landmark with digital imagery. Open Street Map is "a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you ... [it] allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth." Policy Map "is a fully web-based Geographic Information System. It's fast, efficient and captures data in visually powerful ways through custom demographic maps, tables, reports and our analysis tool, Analytics." (fee-based) Axismaps offers custom mapping services and interactive map hosting (fee-based) plus some free resouces.
  • Sources for Geographic Data Maps World NASA and the University of Maryland maintain the Global Land Cover Facility which collects satellite data on land cover for the entire world. NASA and CIESEN/Columbia University maintain the World Data Center which "provides access to a wide range of global data, associated documentation, and visualization and analysis tools, and to the community of experts on global data." A-to-Z Maps Online (accessed via Burke Library) includes a GIS Data tab with a number of sub-menus categorizing hundreds of GIS data sources. The World Bank's Data and Research portal provides a wide variety of data, some of which is geographic. The World Bank's Open Data Initiative includes an online data catalog with data in formats such as Excel. United States The Department of the Interior maintains a Geospatial One-Stop Portal for federal, state and local geographic data. The Federal Geographic Data Committee coordinates the sharing of geographic data through an online portal that searches metadata held within the NSDI Clearinghouse network. The Census Bureau maintains the American Factfinder website, from which one can download census data in GIS-readable format. For historical census data, visit the National Historical Geographic Information System, housed at the University of Minnesota. DataPlace "is your free online source for housing and demographic data about your community, your region, and the nation." ESRI maintains a website of downloadable data, including data which is free of charge (such as US Census TIGER/Line files). Hamilton's own Dave Tewksbury provided the extensive and carefully-vetted list of GIS sources for all states on the SERC-Carleton web site.  Thanks, Dave! New York State New York State data is maintained by the New York State GIS Clearinghouse.   Another neat site, also maintainted by New York State, is NYS Orthos. The Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository is also a clearinghouse for information about New York State. The New York State Museum provides a nice collection of datasets for New York State. Links to GIS Data Provided by Research Universities The University of Oregon, by state, also electronic atlases UNC GIS Data Finder, by themes (e.g., social, economic) MIT GIS Services Michigan State Libraries Georgia State University GIS Research Guides Stanford University Websites for Digital GIS Data Duke University Data and GIS Services GIS @ University of Chicago University of Colorado Cornell University Mann Library GIS Data Sources Tufts University Geospatial Data Repository UC Santa Barbara Globetrotter Miscellaneous and Commercial Sources The American Association of Geographers has lists of databases, maps & atlases, historical gazetteers and GIS. The Geocommunity website bills itself as the "premier on-line resource for GIS and geospatial data." New Urban Research, Inc., provides some data and shapefiles for free and some for a small charge at Primary Data Source. Econdata Data Collections includes a section of links to mapping resources.
  • Spatial Thinking and Analysis Maps What is Spatial Thinking and Analysis? ESRI's GIS.com is a great "getting started" web site which explains what GIS is and how and where these tools are used. In addition, the web site offers resources such as sample mapping software, free e-books and resources for learning GIS (Geographic Information Systems). TeachSpatial is 1) a spatial window into the National Science Digital Library; 2) a site about spatial thinking; 3) a community of interest; and 4) a collection of directories of publications and links on spatial topics. ESRI's Education Curriculum Development Manager has written an article on "Developing Spatial Thinking Skills in Education and Society" which offers several useful definitions of spatial skills. For a fun introduction to cartography, visit Cartography 2.0, which is a "free online knowledge base and e-textbook for students and professionals interested in interactive and animated maps." Find a good introduction to mapping, sample uses of the technology, strategies for collecting data, and more, with The Illustrated Guide to Nonprofit GIS and Online Mapping. From SERC at Carleton College, browse a collection of resources related to understanding spatial thinking in the geosciences. Here is a tutorial on Spatial Thinking from Columbia University which addresses the issue of "why some students have trouble with maps and spatial representations." Penn State University is producing The Geospatial Revolution, "an integrated public service media and outreach initiative about the world of digital mapping and how it is changing the way we think, behave, and interact." The following sites might help you to think about visualizing information: Information is Beautiful; EagerEyes; FlowingData; GapMinder; and Infosthetics. For the more technically-minded, Penn State offers an online course, "The Nature of Geographic Information." The foundational text on Geospatial Analysis is now available online in several different formats.
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