Week 7 Lab Assignment

Extent:

Top: 39.8291666661

Left: -105.788888889

Right: -104.969444445

Bottom: 39.3838888883

Spatial Reference:

Linear Unit:

Angular Unit: Degree (0.0174532925199433)

Datum: D_North_American_1983

Week Six Lab Assignment

           

          Different map projections serve different purposes and each one cannot be perfect in every regard. Some projections are meant to be accurate in only some ways and therefore useful in only certain circumstances. However, when projections are very accurate in some areas, they tend to be inaccurate in others. But this does not mean that they are not useful. Geographers and other people that use maps frequently will use projections that best suit their needs. Map projections are not perfect but very useful.

            Map projections are significant for a number of reasons. First of all and most importantly, having a variety of projections to choose from means that you can have more accurate data, depending on what you are studying or trying to accomplish. For example, conformal maps preserve angles and direction, so they would be useful for navigation. Sailors would much rather use a Mercator projection than a map that does not preserve angles, like a Bonne equal area projection. Having a variety of projections means that people can be more accurate with data in the areas that they are interested in.

            Being very accurate in one respect means sacrificing accuracy in others, and that is exactly the case with map projections and is one of their perils. For example, an equidistant cylindrical projection will not preserve area at all, and an equal area projection like the Goode Homolonsie Projection will not preserve direction well. Each map has its trade-offs. Another issue with map projections is that areas are greatly distorted, which is simply the result of rendering the three-dimensional Earth onto a two-dimensional surface. When looking at a projection like the Plate Carree projection, it is clear that all the land towards the poles are greatly stretched and the areas near the equator are not. The only projection that I used that had the least distortion was the Stereographic projection. Every map projection has a purpose and a strong point, but each one also has its own flaws.

            As mentioned earlier, map projections have great significance as well as having a lot of potential. They allow for people to choose which projection best suits their needs so that they may have more accurate data. Sailors are able to navigate easier with conformal maps, distances are more accurate with equidistant projections, and area is represented more accurately with equal area projections. The possibilities in GIS are almost infinite when people choose the map projections that are best for what they are investigating.

Week Four Lab Assignment

           GIS software is a very useful thing that has many advantages and has huge potential in the real world. However, like most things life it is not without its flaws and has some minor pitfalls that make the experience a bit more difficult. My first experience with ArcMap was a mixed experience, but mainly yielded positive results.

            The amount of negatives in my experience with ArcMap is few but it exposes some of the possible pitfalls of GIS. One of the main problems that I encountered with the program was that there was some redundancy when it came to doing certain functions. For example, there would be several ways to perform a function and one would not really be more efficient than the other. The multiple ways of achieving the same function could result in confusion between the user and the program and possibly result in inaccurate data as well as being difficult for the user to gain a commanding knowledge of the program. My experience with ArcMap uncovered some pitfalls of GIS.

            Using ArcMap allowed me to uncover much more potential in GIS rather than pitfalls. Although the program could be very confusing at times, mainly because of the enormous amount of functions there are, it made me appreciate just how many possibilities there are to visually display critical and relevant information for an area. In addition, there is almost an infinite amount of data that can be represented through GIS programs that could benefit humanity in general. The potential of GIS far outweighs the pitfalls simply because of the limitless versatility and possibility of the software.

            My experience with ArcMap made me realize several things about GIS in general. First off, I noticed the difficulties that came with learning new software that has so many different ways of completing functions, and I found that to be frustrating and thought of it as inefficient. However, reflecting on the experience makes me accept that the complications that come with learning the program is simply a by-product of the limitless potential GIS has and the diversity of data that it can represent. Working with ArcMap helped me visualize the vast potential that GIS has for society.