1. GIS and Layers Developed by Oklahoma 4-H

2. Beginnings of GIS • Began in the 1960s • Use was mainly in the public sector • Has roots in cartography and mapping • Major influence on geography in the 1980s and 1990s

3. Definition of GIS • Geographic Information System • ESRI defines GIS as: A collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

4. Layers • Layers are a “slice of the geographic reality in a particular area” (ESRI) • They are similar to a map legend • Layers may describe physical, biological, cultural, demographic, scale, etc. characteristics

5. For Example: • We have three maps (or layers) with yearly rainfall, tree species, and soil type for a specific area. • By overlaying these maps, we could determine if the amount of yearly rainfall has an effect on the type of tree that grows in certain soils.

6. Yearly Rainfall Tree Species Soil Type Essentially GIS uses different layers to show the relationships between data.

7. ESRI example of GIS map and its layers

8. Components of GIS • Hardware • Computer • Software • Computer program • Data • Collected, bought, or free

9. Uses of Data • Find features or patterns • Quantities and density maps • Changes in a specific area • Anticipating a change (natural disaster preparedness) • Deciding or evaluating a course of action

10. How is it used? • Tracking the spread of disease • Mapping soil moisture • Trends in an evolving storm • Mapping Storm Water systems • Public road inventory • Precision Agriculture

11. Tracking the spread of the West Nile virus from ESRI Map Book vol. 19

12. Track of 2004 Hurricanes in Florida and Wind Speed, ESRI Map Book Vol. 21

13. Mapping soil moisture from ESRI Map Book Vol. 21

14. Wastewater collection system from ESRI Map Book Vol. 21

15. Predicting traffic problems from ESRI Map Book Vol. 16

16. Precision Agriculture from ESRI Map Book Vol. 20 Maturity Map Protein Map Detailed Map Maps are for Brown Rice Red is High; Purple is Low

17. What are other uses you can think of?

18. Link to ESRI map books for real life GIS maps: http://www.esri.com/industries/planning/success_stories/map_book.html

19. Activity • If given the following layers, what inferences or assumptions can you make from them? • Map of the U.S. with state capitals • Map of the population density • Map of interstate highways • Map of rivers in the U.S. • Average farm size in acres

20. Map of United States and State Capitals

21. Interstate Highways

22. Major Rivers

23. Capitals, Rivers, Highways

24. Population Density from 2000 Census

25. Capitals, Rivers, Highways, Population

26. Oklahoma with Highway, Rivers, Population Density

27. Average Size of Farms in 2002

28. Farm Size, Capitals, Highways, Rivers

29. Oklahoma Farm Size, Highways, Rivers

30. All maps are from the National Atlas website located at: www.nationalatlas.com This site allows you to use different layers to create maps.