1.1.

Working with coordinate systems and projections

 A coordinate is a number set that denotes a specific

location within a reference system.

 Typical coordinates are the x-y set ([x, y]), which is used
in a two-dimensional system, and the x-y-z set ([x, y, z]),
which is used in a three-dimensional system.

 A coordinate system is a reference system used to

measure horizontal and vertical distances on a plane
metric map.

 It is a framework that is used to define unique positions.

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 Coordinate system…
 A coordinate system is a reference framework that
defines the position of features in either two- or three-
dimensional space.
 Coordinate systems can be horizontal, defining where
features are across the globe, or vertical, defining how
high or deep features are relative to a surface.
 Coordinate systems can be defined in both maps and
scenes.
 Horizontal coordinate systems are either geographic or
projected.

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 Coordinate system…
 A geographic coordinate system
(GCS)
 is based on a three-dimensional
ellipsoidal or spherical surface
 Use a 3D spherical or ellipsoidal
model of the Earth.
 locations are defined using angular
measurements, usually degrees of
longitude and latitude.
 Example: WGS84 (World Geodetic
System 1984)

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 Coordinate system…
 A projected coordinate system (PCS) is a planar system that uses
two-dimensional coordinates and linear distance measurements as
units.
 A projected coordinate system is based on a geographic
coordinate system and a map projection.
 Use a 2D flat surface (e.g., a map).
 Locations are defined using linear units (e.g., meters, feet).
 Example: UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator), commonly used
for regional mapping.
 The map projection contains the mathematical calculations that
convert the geodetic locations to the planar system.

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 Coordinate system…
 Vertical coordinate systems provide a reference for z-coordinates,
which are measurements of the height or depth of features.
 Define height or depth relative to a reference surface (e.g., sea level).
 Used in applications like elevation modeling or oceanography.
 Using a vertical coordinate system improves locational accuracy in analysis
and editing.
 Vertical coordinate systems are not applied by default to new maps and
scenes; you must explicitly choose one.
 Empty maps and scenes derive their coordinate systems from the first
layer added to them.
 When you add more layers to a map or scene, they are automatically
displayed using the same coordinate system of the map or scene.
 If the map or scene's geographic coordinate system is different than
the GCS of the layer, the data is projected in real time using a
transformation
 Coordinate system…
 All spatial data is created in a coordinate system,
whether it is points, lines, polygons, rasters, or
annotation.
 The coordinates can be specified in many different ways,
such as decimal degrees, feet, meters, or kilometers; any
form of measurement can be used as a coordinate
system.
 Identifying this measurement system is the first step to
choosing a coordinate system that displays your data in
its correct position in ArcGIS, in relation to your other
data.

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Coordinate system…

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 Projections
A projection is the means by which you display the
coordinate system and your data on a flat surface, such
as a piece of paper or a digital screen.

 Mathematical calculations are used to convert the

coordinate system used on the curved surface of earth to
one for a flat surface.

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 Projections…
Since there is no perfect way to transpose a curved
surface to a flat surface without some distortion,
 Various map projections exist that provide different
properties.
 Some preserve shape, while others preserve distance.
 Some preserve area or direction.

The extent, location, and property you want to preserve

must inform your choice of map projection.
There are more than 4,000 coordinate systems in the
ArcGIS platform, so it is likely you'll find one to match
your data.
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 Transformations

After defining the coordinate system that matches your

data, you may still want to use data in a different
coordinate system.

This is when transformations are useful.

Transformations convert data between different
geographic coordinate systems or between different
vertical coordinate systems.

Transformations convert data between different

coordinate systems to ensure alignment and accuracy.
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 Vector and Raster Projection
 Vector data represents geographic data symbolized as points, lines, or polygons.
 Examples:
 Points: Cities, wells, or landmarks.
 Lines: Roads, rivers, or pipelines.
 Polygons: Countries, lakes, or land parcels.
 Vector data is projected by transforming the coordinates of each feature.
 Raster data represents geographic data as a matrix of cells that each contains
an attribute value.
 Examples: Satellite imagery, digital elevation models (DEMs), or heat
maps.
 Raster data is projected by resampling the grid to align with the target
coordinate system. This can involve interpolation to maintain data quality.
 While the area of different polygon shapes in a data set can differ, each cell in a
raster data set is the same cell.
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 1.2. Symbolizing features
 Symbolization encodes both the location and attributes of features
to communicate meaning effectively.
 Symbolization can be regarded as the coding of map features to
communicate meaning.
 At its simplest level of representation, spatial data exists as points,
lines, areas, or rasters.
 But representing these features, combined with their attributes,
often means encoding something more complex than just
geographic location.
 Symbolization encodes both the where and what components of
features.
 Symbolization can show difference (nominal), rank (ordinal), or
some numeric measurement (interval or ratio).

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 Symbolizing…

Visual Variables:
 Size: Represents magnitude (e.g., larger circles for
higher population).
 Shape: Represents categories (e.g., squares for cities,
triangles for mountains).
 Color: Represents differences or intensity (e.g., red for
high temperatures, blue for low).
 Pattern: Represents texture or type (e.g., dashed lines
for boundaries, solid lines for roads).

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 Symbolizing…
 These visual variables are based on a long history of cartographic
communication.
 Follow these guidelines to best match symbol characteristics to the
quantitative and qualitative properties of features.
 Making sensible choices about how to represent your features to
convey just the right message is key to making your map
communicate effectively.
 For instance, if you want to show how cities (represented by point
symbols) differ in their population size you would probably choose to
change the size of the symbol used to represent the points.
 Larger symbols represent larger magnitudes and this is how our eyes
and brains process the meaning of a large symbol compared to a
smaller one.

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 Symbolizing…
Consider the following Best Practices:
 Use intuitive symbols that align with the audience’s
expectations.
 Avoid overloading the map with too many symbols or colors.
 Ensure symbols are legible at the map’s scale.
Example Applications:
 Choropleth Maps: Use color gradients to represent data values
(e.g., population density).
 Proportional Symbol Maps: Use varying symbol sizes to represent
quantities (e.g., earthquake magnitudes).
 Line Symbols: Use different line styles to represent features
(e.g., highways vs. local roads).

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 Symbolizing…
Symbolization can take on a range of functions on a map
but should be clear, concise, and easily understood by
anyone reading your map.

Variations in symbol size imply quantitative difference.

For instance, to show the locations of different types of
point features, you might vary the shape of the point
symbol based on the attribute that defines the type.

Alternatively, to show how an attribute varies in

magnitude at those points, you might vary the size of
the symbols.

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 1.3. Spatial data query
 Spatial queries retrieve data based on spatial relationships,
enabling analysis and decision-making.

 Spatial query refers to the process of retrieving a data subset from

a map layer by working directly with the map features.

 Spatial query is a crucial GIS capability that distinguishes GIS from

other graphic information systems.

 It refers to the search for spatial features based on their spatial

relations with other features.

 It is a set of spatial conditions characterized by spatial operators

that form the basis for the retrieval of spatial information from a
spatial database system.
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 Spatial data query…
 A request expressed as a combination of spatial conditions (e.g.,
Euclidean distance from a query point) for extracting specific
information from a large amount of spatial data without actually
changing these data.
 A spatial query is a special type of database query supported by
geodatabases.
 The queries differ from SQL queries in several important ways.
 they allow for the use of geometry data types such as points,
lines and polygons
 these queries consider the spatial relationship between these
geometries.

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Types of Spatial Queries:
 Proximity Queries: Find features within a certain distance
(e.g., schools within 1 km of a park).
 Containment Queries: Find features within a boundary
(e.g., houses within a flood zone).
 Intersection Queries: Find features that overlap (e.g.,
roads crossing a river).
 Adjacency Queries: Find features that are next to each
other (e.g., states bordering a specific state).

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 1.4. Classifying features
 Classification organizes data into groups or categories to
reveal patterns and trends.

 Classification is the process of sorting or arranging

entities into groups or categories; on a map.

 The process of representing members of a group by the

same symbol, usually defined in a legend.

 When you classify your data, you can use one of many
standard classification methods provided in ArcGIS, or
you can manually define your own custom class ranges.

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 Classifying…

 Classification methods are used for classifying numerical

fields:
 Manual interval
 Defined interval
 Equal interval
 Quantile
 Natural breaks (Jenks)
 Geometrical interval
 Standard deviation

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 Manual interval

 Define your own classes

 Manually add class breaks and to set class ranges that

are appropriate for the data.

 Alternatively, you can start with one of the standard

classifications and make adjustments as needed.

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 Defined interval

 Specify an interval size to define a series of classes with

the same value range.

 For example, if the interval size is 75, each class will span
75 units.

 The number of classes, based on the interval size and

maximum sample size, is determined automatically.

 The interval size must be small enough to fit the

minimum number of classes allowed, which is three.

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 Equal interval
 Divide the range of attribute values into equal-sized subranges.
 Allows you to specify the number of intervals, and the class breaks
based on the value range are automatically determined.
 For example, if you specify three classes for a field whose values range
from 0 to 300, three classes with ranges of:
 0–100
 101–200
 201–300
 Equal interval is best applied to familiar data ranges, such as
percentages and temperature.
 This method emphasizes the amount of an attribute value relative to
other values.
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 Quantile
 Each class contains an equal number of features.
 It is well suited to linearly distributed data.
 It assigns the same number of data values to each class.
 There are no empty classes or classes with too few or too many
values.
 Because features are grouped in equal numbers in each class using
quantile classification, the resulting map can often be misleading.
 Similar features can be placed in adjacent classes, or features with
widely different values can be put in the same class.
 You can minimize this distortion by increasing the number of classes.

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 Natural breaks (Jenks)

 Classes are based on natural groupings inherent in the data.

 Class breaks are created in a way that best groups similar values
together and maximizes the differences between classes.

 The features are divided into classes whose boundaries are set where
there are relatively big differences in the data values.

 Natural breaks are data-specific classifications and not useful for

comparing multiple maps built from different underlying information.

 This classification is based on the Jenks Natural Breaks algorithm.

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 Geometrical interval

 Creates class breaks based on class intervals that have a geometric

series.
 The geometric coefficient in this classifier can change once (to its
inverse) to optimize the class ranges.
 The algorithm creates geometric intervals by minimizing the sum
of squares of the number of elements in each class.
 This ensures that each class range has approximately the same
number of values in each class and that the change between
intervals is fairly consistent.
 This algorithm was specifically designed to accommodate
continuous data.

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 Geometrical interval…

 It is a compromise between the equal interval, natural breaks

(Jenks), and quantile methods.

 It creates a balance between highlighting changes in the middle

values and the extreme values, thereby producing a result that is
visually appealing and cartographically comprehensive.

 One example for using the geometrical interval classification is a

rainfall dataset in which only 15 out of 100 weather stations (less
than 50 percent) have recorded precipitation, and the rest have no
recorded precipitation, so their attribute values are zero.

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 Standard deviation

 Standard Deviation shows you how much a feature's attribute

value varies from the mean.

 The mean and standard deviation are calculated automatically.

 Class breaks are created with equal value ranges that are a
proportion of the standard deviation—usually at intervals of
one, one-half, one-third, or one-fourth—using mean values and
the standard deviations from the mean.

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 1.5. Labeling features
 Labeling refers specifically to the process of automatically
generating and placing descriptive text for features in maps and
scenes.

 Labels provide descriptive text for features, enhancing map

readability and understanding.

 A label is a piece of text on the map that is dynamically placed and

whose text string is derived from one or more feature attributes.

 Labeling is a fast way to add text to your map because you don't
add text for each feature manually.

 This is useful if your data is expected to change or you are creating

maps at different scales.
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 Labeling features…
Label Placement:
 Labels should be placed close to their corresponding
features without overlapping.
 Dynamic placement adjusts labels based on zoom level or
feature density.
Label Styles:
 Use font size, color, and style to differentiate labels (e.g.,
bold for cities, italic for rivers).
 Add leader lines for features that are too small to label
directly.

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 Summary
 Understanding coordinate systems and projections is
essential for accurate data representation.

 Symbolization and classification help communicate data

meaningfully.

 Spatial queries enable powerful analysis based on

geographic relationships.

 Labeling enhances map readability and usability.

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Thank You!!

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