ESM 263 Geographic Information Systems

Assignment 1 - Cartography

CONTENTS

Due at Fri 2023-01-20 23:59

Summary

  1. Learn basic principles of cartography and map design.
  2. Do the tutorial exercises to learn the basics of QGIS.
  3. Design and construct a map using provided data.
  4. Submit your assignment to course website.

Grading

This assignment is worth 10 points (10% of your grade), awarded according to the scoring rubric. Your map should adhere to design principles, contain all appropriate design elements, and present data accurately.

Tasks

Task 1: Principles of cartography and map design

Creating maps is one of the most common applications of GIS. A well-designed map is a powerful communication tool, but it takes practice and experience to master. You do not need any spatial analysis techniques for this assignment, but you do need to understand the core concepts and design principles behind mapmaking (i.e., cartography). We will discuss these principles in lecture and lab, and we’ve posted some readings on the course website. Read the article from O’Looney, and focus on key principles—such as map layers, map elements, visual variables, symbology, and commonly used map types such as choropleth.

Task 2: Tutorials

You will learn the basics of QGIS to navigate and create maps via hands-on tutorials in the Bolstad book.

  1. Read the excerpt from textbook Chapter 4, “Output: Hardcopy Maps, Digital Data, and Metadata”.

  2. On your own, work through “Lab 1: introduction to QGIS” from the textbook:

    1. Create a lab1 folder in your ESM263 course folder.
    2. Download the Lab 1 handout and data into ESM263/lab1
    3. Unzip the data. This should result in the following folder structure:
      • ESM263/lab1/:
        • Bolstad_L1/: data
        • Bolstad_L1.pdf: handout
  3. Read the following subsections of section 15.1.3 of the QGIS manual on Features Rendering:
  4. Work through QGIS training manual 3.3.3 - 3.3.4

Task 3: Design a map

Design a map of the world that shows demographic information for each country.

Bonus:

1) Instead of using the provided dataset, you can find another dataset of your choice on the web and use it instead. Don’t forget to reference the source!

2) Calculate ratios of the metrics, e.g. the population density.

  1. Create a folder for your HW1 project, called, e.g. HW1/

  2. Download the assignment data file HW1.zip. This data was extracted from The CIA World Factbook (Extraction script)

  3. Extract HW1.zip into your HW1 project folder. It should contain:
    • world.gpkg. A geopackage containing the outlines of the countries of the worlds and various metrics on these countries
    • capitals.gpkg. A geopackage containing the capitals of the world.
    • bbox.gpkg. A geopackage containing a bounding box of the world and 20 degree graticules.

  4. Start up QGIS and save the new empty project as ESM263/HW1/HW1.qgz

    The Browser panel will now contain a Project Home “folder” that serves as shortcut to ESM263/HW1

  5. Add world.gpkg to your map either by drag and dropping or by using Layer→Add Layer.

    Pro tip: You could also just double-click on world.gpkg in the Browser panel. Doing this for anything that QGIS knows how to display will add it to your map as the top layer(s).

  6. Optionally, add capitals.gpgk to your map. Decide if you want to display the capitals or not.

  7. Take a look at the different metrics displayed at on the CIA World Factbook Guide to Country Comparisons page. This contains the metadata for the world.gpkg data. Skim the different metrics and their descriptions.

  8. Choose a metric to use for your map from the variables documented in the metadata. Examples include Area, Population. You may choose any variable (or calculate ratios of different variables). Use the Attribute Table of the world layer to view the data in tabular form.

    Here is an example map with Title, Legend, and Acknowledgement elements:

    Figure 1: Dependency Ratio (CountryWatchexample)

  9. Design a map for your data, while considering these questions:

    • What is/are the source(s) for your data?

    • What are the units of your variable?

    • If your variable has a value of -99, what does that mean?

    • How will you describe your data in supporting map elements, such as a legend?

    • What is an appropriate symbology to communicate your data visually?

      You might want to consult subsection 15.1.3.1.4. Graduated Renderer of the QGIS manual.

  10. Lay out your map using the Layout tool (Project→New Print Layout). Include Title, Legend, and Acknowledgment elements. Remember to include your name and your data sources. For your page layout, use letter paper in landscape mode (11" × 8.5").

    Export your map as a PDF image by using Layout→Export as PDF (or click the Export as PDF button) and use HW1.PDF as the file name.

    Figure 2: Export Map

    Un-check Simplify geometries to reduce output file size:

    Figure 3: Export Map

  11. Verify that your PDF document contains a clear and readable map.

Task 4: Turn-in your assignment

  1. Rename your map image file to include your full name with proper capitalization and no spaces or punctuation (Camel Case; e.g., from HW1.pdf to HW1MortimerSnerd.pdf.
  2. Create a submission by uploading your map image file to the assignment page on the Canvas course website.

Things to look out for

Design and layout

Data sources and accuracy

Submission