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EESC/GEOL 205 - Computer Applications in Environmental Science and Geology

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Digital elevation data from the U.S.G.S. for the Fredericksburg, Virginia region. 
This is a triangulated irregular network (TIN) image displayed with a tilted perspective.

Links to Web-sites with useful class data

GEOL 205/EESC205:  Computer Applications in Environmental Science and Geology

The course introduces students to geographic information systems (GIS) with the ArcGIS suite of software tools. Sources of data include U.S. Geological Survey products such as digital line graphs, digital raster graphics and digital elevation models. Census Bureau TIGER files and demographic data are also incorporated within the course as well as original data from local projects. Students also learn to collect field GPS data which is then differentially corrected and added to GIS databases.

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U.S. Census Bureau TIGER files for the City of Fredericksburg

Web  Resources for GEOL/EESC 205: Computer Applications in Geology and Environmental Science

ESRI   Home page for the Environmental Systems Research Institute.  ESRI produces and distributes the world's most well-known GIS software packages including ARC/INFO, ArcView, and ArcCAD.  The ESRI site contains complete product descriptions and also offers a series of on-line courses to learn ARC/INFO or ArcView techniques.  Links within the ESRI web-pages also provide sources of GIS data which can be downloaded and viewed in ArcView or ARC/INFO software.

Government Spatial Data Source The federal government has instituted a new "one-stop shopping" web source to find, order or download spatial data. The site is called Geodata.gov and it promises to be a very useful resource.

USGS Geographic Data Download   The following data sets may be obtained from this site: 1:250,000 DEM (1 degree DEM), 1:24,000 DEM (7 1/2 minute DEM), 1:2,000,000 DLG, 1:100,000 DLG and 1:24,000 DLG.

RAPPAHANNOCK WATERSHED DATA   A variety of GIS data sets in ESRI shapefile format are available for downloading.

Radford University Geoserver   The geography department of Radford University maintains an on-line database that includes Digital Raster Graphics, Digital Orthophotoquads and Digital Elevation Models for Virginia and some surrounding states. 

EarthExplorer This is a fairly recently developed U.S.G.S. site that allows users to search for spatial data and order products on-line. Unfortunately, it is not as user friendly or as useful as the former U.S.G.S. GLIS site that was retired.

TRIMBLE GPS SITE   Trimble is the largest manufacturer of Global Positioning System (GPS) instruments.  From the Trimble main pageselect Mapping and GIS Systems in order to see background information on how GIS works.

NATONAL GEODETIC SURVEY This is a very useful resource that allows us to find nearby GPS base station data in order to carry out differential correction.

TIGER LINE DATA ESRI provides U.S. Census Bureau TIGER files in shapefile format. You can perform searches according to state, county and type of data.

GEODESY SLIDE SHOW   Geodesy refers to the shape of the Earth and is a vital concern in map making and the operation of GPS instruments.  This site provides a self-paced tutorial which explains the concept of geodesy and reference datums.  From the main page select the Start Slide Show button.

UTM GRID SYSTEM   The Universal Transverse Mercator uses an XY-coordinate system in order to locate positions on a map rather than the spherical coordinates used by latitude/longitude.  Sometimes it is necessary to convert from one coordinate system to another especially when entering map control points during georeferencing.