Virginia GIS Conference

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Virginia State Map
Virginia State MapRefining Data for
Cartographic Presentation
Virginia GIS Conference October 24, 2006
Trent M. Park Geographic Information System
Specialist
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Virginia State Map
Purpose

• Replace Approx. 60 Maps Currently Displayed in
  VEDP Offices (Internal)
• Produce Easily Updateable Document for
  Distribution to External Clients

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Virginia State Map
USGS State Map Series

• Last Updated in 1973
• Political Boundary Map with Emphasis on
• Topography
• Water Bodies
• Streams
• Forests

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Virginia State Map
USGS State Map Series
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Virginia State Map
USGS State Map Series
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Virginia State Map
new VEDP State Map

• Built with Dynamic Spatial Layers
• Political Boundary Map with Emphasis on
• Transportation Infrastructure
• Urban Development
• Natural Amenities

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Virginia State Map
new VEDP State Map
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Virginia State Map
new VEDP State Map
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Virginia State Map
Updated Features Changing Cities
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Virginia State Map
Updated Features New Cities
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Virginia State Map
Updated Features Transportation
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Virginia State Map
new VEDP State Map
Under the Hood

• 13 Versioned SDE Annotation Layers
• Including 1,259 Populated Places 456
  Transportation Labels
• 20 Dynamic Feature Layers

? Towns ? Urban Areas ? Airports ? VDOT
Roads ? Rail ? State Parks ? National Parks ?
State Forest ? Wildlife Refuge ? Streams ?
Water Bodies (including Chesapeake Bay) ? DCR VA
County Boundary ? ESRI County Boundaries (2) ?
State Boundaries (3)
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Virginia State Map
Problematic Datasets

• NHD Water Bodies (Including the Chesapeake Bay)
• Streams
• Rail
• Roads
• GNIS Populated Places

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Virginia State Map
NHD Water Bodies Layer

• Problem
• Divided into Multiple Feature Parts
• Boundary Is Not Coincident with Shoreline
  Boundary
• Solution
• Started with 1 Large Feature and Clipped with
  U.S. County (Shoreline) Boundary
• Clipped with Hydro (Rivers)
• Performed an Eliminate Function to Remove
  Small Pieces

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Virginia State Map
NHD Water Bodies Layer
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Virginia State Map
Streams

• Problem
• Many Small Segments and Features Overlap Water
  Bodies
• Solution
• Dissolved Streams by Name (uncheck multipart)
• From Geodatabase - Query Long Features
• Clip with Water Bodies to Avoid Overlapping
  Features

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Virginia State Map
Rail

• Problem
• Rail Symbology Susceptible to Distortion at
  Large Scale when Tracks Are Parallel
• Solution
• No Elegant Solution Rail Lines Were Manually
  Selected for Inclusion

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Virginia State Map
Rail
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Virginia State Map
Roads

• Problem
• Segment Classification Changes When Roads Are
  Coincident
• Symbolizing Roads According to Access Level
• Solution
• Manually Reclassify Segments to the Higher
  Classification
• Roads are all Symbolized and Labeled According
  to Their Classification and Not Their Access
  Level

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Virginia State Map
Roads
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Virginia State Map
Roads
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Virginia State Map
GNIS (Populated Places)

• Problem
• Layer Outdated
• Solution
• Georeferenced the 1973 USGS Map to Use as a
  Guide for Initial Placement of Features
• Any Populated Places that Had Clearly Become
  Part of an Urban Area Were Removed

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Virginia State Map
Table of Contents
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Virginia State Map
Bringing it Together Coordinating the Layers

• TOC Order
• Annotation Masks (Halos)
• Background Color
• Transparencies
• Caution!
• Redundant Boundaries
• i.e. County Layer

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Virginia State Map
Process Assessment

• Multiple Users (Versioned) Editing Separate
  Regions Can Produce Inconsistent Results
• GIS Data Usually Requires Manipulation to Suit
  Scale and Aesthetic Requirements
• Client Feedback Often Not Consistent with the
  Original Scope of the Project

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Virginia State Map
Thank You
http//www.YesVirginia.org http//gis.vedp.org
tpark_at_YesVirginia.org