Chapter 1: Make a Map
This chapter will guide you through your first mapping project from start to finish.
Goal: Create and share a basic GIS map.Chapter Outcomes
In this chapter, you will learn how to:
- create a new ArcGIS Pro project,
- navigate the map window of ArcGIS Pro,
- add GIS data to the map,
- change the symbols used to display features on the map,
- label features on the map,
- change the map’s projection,
- create a page layout,
- add map elements to the layout,
- print the map and export the map as an image,
- share the map online, and
- package the project for easy file transfer.
Materials Needed
If you are in a class, your instructor will provide you with the following:
- A simple point shapefile covering a particular geographic area (like a state or county)
- A simple line shapefile covering the same area
- A simple polygon shapefile covering the same area
The three shapefiles should be usable together to make a coherent map. (For information on shapefiles, see Section 5.3 of the Campbell and Shin textbook).
In case you are working alone and would like to use the same datasets shown in the examples in this chapter, they come from the following free online sources:
- Points: Natural Earth 1:10m Populated Places Simple
- Lines: Natural Earth 1:10m Rivers and Lake Centerlines
- Polygons: U.S. Census 2022 States and Equivalent
While the links above are provided for convenience, I recommend using different data so you can learn to apply the examples to your own projects. A vast array of data is available from the online repositories listed in Appendix A.
To prepare for the activities in this chapter, you should first read Chapters 1 and 2 of the companion textbook, Essentials of Geographic Information Systems by Jonathan Campbell and Michael Shin. These chapters cover important concepts related to spatial thinking, the nature of GIS, and how maps work, which you will put into practice in the following exercises. You should also answer the first Teachback question below before proceeding.
Teachback 1
The first Stage of Action is “Forming the Goal.” The general goal for this chapter, stated above, is to “Create and share a basic GIS map.” What will you map, and covering what geographic area? Rewrite this goal so it is specific to the map you intend to create, in the format, “I will create and share a basic GIS map of….”
