Unit Eight: Geo-Spatial Information and Data Processing

Introduction

 Geography education is well-suited for visualize spatial or geographic data, helping in

developing 21st-century skills through decision-making for urban planning, environmental
exploring real-world issues. management, and resource distribution.
 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are
powerful computer-based tools for handling  Importance: GIS helps in decision-making,
spatially referenced data, ideal for high problem-solving, and understanding spatial
school education. patterns and relationships.
 This unit focuses on the representation of  Applications: urban planning,
relief features on topographic maps and environmental management, natural resource
the basics of GIS. management, transportation planning, and
disaster management.
8.1 Representation of Relief Features on Topographic Maps
Additional topics covered:
Keywords:
 Reading and interpreting contour maps for
different landforms, such as mountains,
 Contour: Lines drawn on a map to represent hills, plateaus, valleys, ridges, gorges,
elevations or depressions of the land, showing points spurs, and others.
of equal height above or below a reference level,
often sea level.  Generating contours from spot heights.
 Developing skills in reading and
understanding topographic maps.
 Hachures: Short, parallel lines drawn on maps to  Exploring various applications of GIS in
depict slopes and terrain, typically used to real-world scenarios.
represent relief visually in areas such as hills or
mountains.
8.1.1 Basic Concepts of Relief and Topographic Map
 Relief Features: Landforms or elevations of the
Earth's surface, including mountains, valleys,  Relief is the difference in elevation between
plateaus, and plains, showing the physical variations the highest and lowest points on the
in terrain. landscape.
 Landforms are three-dimensional features on
 Topographic Map: A type of map that displays the earth's surface resulting from erosion,
the Earth's surface features, including natural and deposition, and crustal movements.
man-made elements, such as elevation, rivers, roads,  A topographic map is a detailed and accurate
and boundaries, often using contour lines and two-dimensional representation of natural and
symbols. man-made features on the ground, including
water bodies, forests, urban areas, roads, and
contours.
 GIS (Geographic Information System): A
digital tool used to capture, store, analyze, and  Map scale represents the relationship between
map distance and ground distance.

8.1.2 Methods of Representing Relief Features

 Hachures: short disconnected lines

representing slopes, illustrating
the steepness of slopes.
o Limitations: hachures don't
indicate height and exact
gradients, and can be laborious
to draw.

 Contours or Isohypses: lines connecting

points of equal elevation above a
datum (mean sea level).
o Properties: contours cannot
merge or cross on maps, never
 branch, always numbered in the  Importance: GIS helps in decision-
direction of increasing making, problem-solving, and
altitude, and spacing indicates understanding spatial patterns and
slope steepness. relationships.
 Applications: urban planning,
environmental management, natural
resource management,
transportation planning, and
disaster management.

Additional topics covered:

 Reading and interpreting contour

maps for different landforms, such
as mountains, hills, plateaus,
valleys, ridges, gorges, spurs,
and others.
8.2 Components, Importance, and Applications of GIS
 Generating contours from spot
heights.
 GIS consists of hardware,  Developing skills in reading and
software, data, people, and understanding topographic maps.
methods for capturing, storing,  Exploring various applications of
analyzing, and visualizing GIS in real-world scenarios.
geographic information.

8.1.3 Major Relief Features (Landforms) and Contour

Representation

 Hills: Rounded, rise above

surroundings. Concentric circles
of contour lines (smaller at
higher elevations). Hilltop =
center of smallest closed circle.
o Concave hillside: Contours
closer at top, wider spacing
down slope.
o Convex hillside: Contours
wider at top, closer spacing  Ridge: Long, narrow hillside with
down slope. peaks. U or V-shaped contours
pointing away from high ground.

 Valley: Long, narrow depression

formed by streams/rivers. Bounded
by higher elevations. U or V-
 Mountains: Project higher than shaped contours
hills. Elongated closed contours pointing upstream (towards high
increasing towards the center (no ground). Contours parallel the
specific tips = mountain range). stream in the valley.
 Saddle: Dip or low point between two
higher areas.  Gorge Very steep valley at higher
elevations formed by river erosion
(closely converging contours)

 Depression: Low ground surrounded by

higher ground. Closed contours
with tick marks pointing towards the
low ground. Values decrease  Spur: Short, sloping line of higher
towards the center. Cut = ground jutting from a ridge. U or
roadway/railway cutting thru V-shape pointing away from high
terrain (contour line along the ground.
cut with tick marks).

 Plateau: Elevated land, roughly

rectangular closed contours,
values increase toward the center.
Piedmont = at foothills.
Intermountain = enclosed by
mountains.
 Cliff: Steep or vertical feature.
Contour lines merge into one
 "carrying contour" (tick marks  Fill: Man-made, filling a low area.
point toward low ground). Contour line with tick marks
Overhanging cliffs have dotted towards lower ground.
contour lines for the undercut.

8.1.4 Catchment Representation on Contour Map Identifying Drainage Basins/Watersheds

on Contour Maps:
 Drainage Basin/Catchment
Area: Geographic area drained by a 1. Identify main river course and
major river and its tributaries. outlet. Circle the outlet.
 Drainage System: Composed of all 2. Highlight tributaries and their
river basins that flow in the same flow direction.
direction. 3. Locate ridge lines, saddles, and
 Tributaries: Small streams high points near tributary
supplying water to the main river. origins. Mark high points with
 Confluence: Point where "X".
tributaries meet the main river. 4. Visualize flow direction from high
 Source: Start of the main river. points. Draw arrows.
 Mouth: Point where the river 5. Trace watershed outline starting
empties into a larger body of at outlet, connecting high points
water. (mark with solid/broken lines).

Rules to Consider:  Contour lines never go up or

downhill.
  Contour lines never cross each
other.
 Steeper slopes = closer contour
lines.
 Use "V" rules (valleys point
upstream, spurs point downstream).
 Water flows down all sides of a
hill.
 Water flows from the top of a
saddle or ridge.

Drainage Patterns on Contour Maps:

 Trellis:
 Dendritic: o Develops in areas with
o Tree-like branching alternating harder and
pattern. softer rock layers.
o Forms in areas of homogeneous o Pattern influenced by
rock (horizontal strata). tectonic forces (folding,
faulting).

 Radial:
o Rivers flow outward in all directions from a central, raised feature.

 Centripetal:
o Rivers flow inward from surrounding high ground towards a central basin.
Basic Concepts of Geographical Information System reporting, data sharing,
(GIS): visualization, and
dissemination.
 Definition: o Promotes teaching and
o Computer-based system for learning in Geography.
capturing, preparing, o Addresses fundamental
storing, checking, problems (climate change,
retrieving, manipulating, food production, natural
analyzing, and displaying resources, and disasters).
geographically referenced  Sitting of facilities
data (geospatial data). (schools, hospitals,
 Components: retail)
o Integrates hardware,  Emergency service
software, and geospatial management
data.  Natural resource
 Purpose: conservation
o Analyzes relationships,  Uses:
patterns, and trends. o Integrate information,
o Supports decision-making propose solutions, and
for planning and management visualize scenarios.
in areas like: o Mapping and analysis of
 Land use network services.
 Natural resources o Suitable sites for urban
 Environment development.
 Transportation o Transport management
 Urban facilities o Suitable agriculture
 Administrative records o Disaster management
 Applications: o Planning and community
o Environmental science development
o Social science (population, o Irrigation management
public health, crime study, o Wildlife management
market planning) o Examining spatial
 Importance & Benefits: relationships (deprivation
o Integrates complex, diverse and crime)
information into a simple o Determining rates/extent of
map. vegetation destruction.
o Merges diverse data sources o Determining the
(project-specific, socio- relationship between rock
economic, census, spatial type and relief.
base data). o Identifying areas with high
o Manages critical data and erosion risk.
informs the decision-making
process. GIS Components
o Platform for project
planning, monitoring,
GIS relies on the integration of five  Input:
core components: Hardware, Software, o Computers (high processing
Data, People, and Methods. speed, memory, storage).
o GPS devices, mobile phones,
1. Hardware: scanners, digitizers.
 Output:
 Definition: The physical equipment o Printers, plotters, hard
required to run GIS tasks. drives.

2. Software: Represents data as a grid of

cells, each with a value
 Definition: Provides the functions (reflectance, colour, etc.).
and tools to input, store, manage,  Used for continuous data
analyze, and display geographic (elevation, temperature,
information. Includes tools for rainfall, etc.).
deriving new geo-information.  Examples: .jpg, .tiff
 Examples:  Cell width dictates resolution.
o Commercial: ESRI products (ArcGIS o Vector:
- ArcMap, Arc-Catalog, Arc-Scene,  Represents discrete geographic
Arc Globe). features.
o Open Source: QGIS (feature-rich).  Shape, size, location, and
 Key Components: orientation of geographical
o DBMS (Database Management features expressed with
System): Software for creating, different geometry:
organizing, storing,  Point: Zero-dimensional (wells,
manipulating, and maintaining cities) - no measurement.
databases.  Line/Poly-line: One-dimensional
o Database: Organized collection of (rivers, roads) - measures
data accessed electronically. distance.
o Tools for input, manipulation,  Polygon: Two-dimensional (lakes,
query, analysis, and boundaries) - measures perimeter
visualization of geographic and area.
information.  Shape file: Data consisting of
a single feature geometry type.
 Feature Dataset: Collection of
3. Data:
feature classes (points, lines,
polygons) with a common
 Definition: The most important coordinate system within a geo-
component. Geographic/spatial data database.
and related tabular data.  Data Acquisition:
 Data Sources: Field collection, o Digitizing/scanning existing
data providers. paper maps.
 Data Types: o GPS data from surveys.
o Raster:
 Storage of aerial photographs,
imagery.
 Remote sensing (aerial
o o Examples: Lake Depth, water
photography, satellite quality, Lake Name, area,
imagery). etc.
 Non-Spatial Data (Attributes):  Data Input: Entering spatial and
o Descriptive data associated non-spatial data and linking them.
with spatial features.

4. People: 
Geoprocessing

Integrating GPS data
 Definition: Those who manage and  MXD Files (Map Exchange Documents):
utilize the GIS. o ArcMap document files with
 Categories: the .mxd extension.
o GIS Users: View and use GIS data o Contain:
for reference, services, and  Map layout specifics
decision-making.  References/pointers to GIS
o GIS Specialists: Collect, manage, data used. Important: MXD
analyze data, and provide technical does NOT store the data
support. itself
 Display information
(symbology, labelling)
5. Methods:
o When you "Add Data," you only add a
reference to the original data
 (Implied from text - not explicitly source.
defined but a critical component)
 Refers to the processes, workflows,
and analytical techniques used within 8.3.1. Opening, Saving, and Closing ArcMap Documents
the GIS to achieve specific goals
(e.g., spatial analysis methods, data  Opening ArcMap:
management protocols). o Click the ArcMap icon in the
start menu.
o Double-click an .mxd file to open
ArcMap Notes the map directly.
o Default: ArcMap opens with a new,
8.3. ArcMap and Main Tools empty map document.
 Saving a Map:
 ArcMap Overview: o Saves the map as an .mxd file on
o Primary ArcGIS application and your hard drive.
interface. o Provide a name and folder
o Used for: location when saving for the
 Adding data first time.
 Map creation o Map Packages: Can save the
 Analysis map with its data for easy
 GIS data editing sharing.
 Accessing Arc Catalog and  Closing a Map:
ArcToolbox o File > Close.
 o Opening a new map also closes the organizing geoprocessing tools,
current one. models, & scripts.
 Supports geo database, shape
8.3.2. ArcMap Main Tools and Their Role files, and coverage’s.
 Features include:
 ArcMap Menus and Tools: o Cannot contain another
1. New Project: Opens a new blank .mxd toolbox
document. o Toolboxes contains toolsets
2. Open Project: Opens an existing .mxd and tools
document. o Tools can be stored at the
3. Save Project: Saves the current toolbox level, or within a
ArcMap document (.mxd). Key toolset
Point: The .mxd only links to the o Tools depends on the
data, it doesn't contain it. Consider extensions available
this when sharing, as the recipient o Alphabetically sorted
will need access to the data source
(local, network, or web service). Common Toolboxes:
4. Print: Prints the map view.
5. Add Layers: Adds GIS data to the  Analysis Toolbox: Geoprocessing
document. Data can be local, on a operations (overlays, buffers,
network, or a web service. statistics, proximity analysis)
6. Edit Function for vector data.
7. Arc Catalog: Used for GIS data  Cartography Toolbox: Map
management: creating, copying, production tools adhering to
deleting shape files, etc. cartographic standards.
8. ArcToolbox  Conversion Toolbox: Tools for
9. Zoom In: Zooms into an area by converting data between various
clicking or drawing a rectangle. formats.
10. Zoom Out: Zooms out of an area by  Coverage Toolbox: Tools for
clicking or drawing a rectangle. geoprocessing operations using
11. Fixed Zoom Out: Zooms out a coverage data.
specific amount.  Data Management Toolbox: Tools for
12. Fixed Zoom In: Zooms in a specific managing feature classes,
amount. datasets, layers, and raster data
13. Pan: Drags the map view in the structures.
desired direction.  Geo-coding Toolbox: Tools for
14. Full Extent: Zooms to the full creating, maintaining, and using
geographical extent of all data in address locators.
the project.  Linear Referencing Toolbox: Tools
15. Select Element: Selects features for creating, calibrating, and
of an active data theme using a shape displaying linear referencing
(circle, rectangle, line, or data.
polygon).  Spatial Analyst Toolbox: Tools for
16. Identify: Queries the attributes raster data analysis, integration
of features in the active data theme with vector data, and creating new
by clicking on the map. Make sure the information from existing data.
correct layer is active.
17. Find: Performs a text search on Toolsets and Tools:
any data theme in the map view.
18. Add XY: Adds a point to the map  Toolsets: Logical containers of
and generates its X, Y coordinates. tools (and other toolsets).
19. Measure: Measures distance between  Tools: Single geoprocessing
two locations. operations (dialogs, models,
scripts).
ArcToolbox
Arc Catalog
 Definition: Integrated application
(Esri) in ArcGIS for accessing and  File manager and metadata
development tool.
  Metadata: Explains data (field  Data Layer Order: Point -> Line ->
attributes, projection, creation Polygon -> Raster.
process, analysis performed).
 Access: Standalone application or b. Removing Data:
through ArcMap.
1. Locate layer in Table of Contents
Adding, Removing, and Displaying Data (left side of ArcMap).
(in ArcMap) 2. Right-click layer name.
3. Select "Remove."
a. Adding Data:
c. Displaying Data:
 Data sources: Local files (shape-
files, geo-databases, etc.) or  Data View: Geographic window for
online data services/providers. exploring, displaying, and
 Methods: querying data in real-world
o Arc Catalog Window: Drag and drop coordinates.
data into project.  Layout View: For working with map
o Add Data Button: layout elements (titles, north
 Add Data: Opens dialog box to arrows, scale bars) on a page.
add local data or connect to Uses page space (inches/cm).
data servers.  Switch Views: View -> Data
 Add Base map: Select pre-made View or View -> Layout View (from
base maps (ESRI, etc.).
main menu).
 Add Data from ArcGIS
Online: Browse online base
maps and data services

Every challenge you face is an opportunity you grow. Never fear the current situation going on inside and outside of your
environment. Stay curious and always strive to learn something new every day. You are capable of great things and your
hard work will shape your future. Belief in yourself, you have amazing inner potential support one another and never
stop. Your future is so Bright full. Thank you!!

The End!!!

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