Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Exercise
1.
Why Should GI Be Expensive?
GI can be hard to obtain and expensive. Why is that? Consider both user and pro-
vider perspectives.
Should GI be made as cheap as possible or should it be sold for enough money
to cover the costs of collection and maintenance?
2.
EXTENDED EXERCISE Geographic Information on the Web
Overview
Much of the information represented in maps can now be found on the World Wide
Web. In addition to presenting reproductions of maps, many websites also offer abil-
ities to produce “customized” maps.
Concepts
Data on the web, some say, is replacing traditional maps. As you work through this
exercise think about that statement and about the advantages and disadvantages of
maps available on the web.
Part 1: Using Online Data to Make Maps
STEP 1
In this part of the exercise you will work with information from several websites. At
the U.S. National Atlas site make a map of Minnesota showing either demographic
or environmental characteristics.
U.S. National Atlas: http://nationalatlas.gov/natlas/natlasstart.asp
Follow the instructions on this webpage and produce a map of Minnesota or the
Upper Midwest for an agricultural attribute, such as Soybeans for Beans—1997 .
QUESTIONS
1. What are the minimum and maximum or first and last legend values?
2. What kind of measurement framework (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) is
used for the data?
STEP 2
Make a map of Minnesota at this site: http://mapserver.lmic.state.mn.us/landuse/
Choose a county from this webpage. After choosing a county, generate a table of sta-
tistics by choosing the Create Statistics radio button and a county.
QUESTIONS
3. What is the dominant land use in the county and what is its name?
4. What percentage of the county is made up by urban and rural develop-
ment?
 
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