Mapping Center

Recently, a new version of ColorBrewer called ColorBrewer 2 (colorbrewer2.org) was released by Axis Maps (www.axismaps.com). ColorBrewer is a web tool for selecting colors for maps. The original ColorBrewer was released in 2002, and the update incorporates comments that the developers, Dr. Cynthia Brewer of Penn State University and Dr. Mark Harrower of University of Wisconsin Madison (he used to be a grad student at Penn State), have received over the years. Here are what some of the new features are. Read More...

Question: What is the difference between filling a polygon with randomly placed dots and creating a dot density map for the polygon?

Filling a polygon with a certain number of randomly placed dots is a form of choropleth mapping where random dots are the area symbol for a quantity that is assumed to be of uniform density throughout the polygon. The choropleth map seen below of San Bernardino county population density uses random dots in this manner. Read More...

Cynthia Brewer’s new book titled Designed Maps: A Sourcebook for GIS Users is a companion piece designed to compliment the highly successful Designing Better Maps: A Guide for GIS Users published by ESRI Press in 2005. The goal of the book is to offer a graphics-intensive presentation of published maps, providing cartographic details that will prompt GIS users to think about their own maps and how to improve them. Read More...

“If I want to create a digital elevation model (DEM) by interpolating from a point shapefile (digital terrain model or DTM), how can I select the most correct cell size given the original separation of the point file?” We recently received this question Read More...