Free-GIS

Utah GIS Data Portal

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:05:10 +0000

Utah’s State Geographic Information Database (SGID) contains files and links to several different categories of data sets. Data presented for download on this site is considered to be in the public domain. Data includes imagery and vector data that can be downloaded or they also have several data servers that you can connect to to use your dynamic maps.

Line of Sight Analysis

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:24:41 +0000

One of the big problems that the wind indusrty has run into in developing wind farms is that people do not want to see the towers. You can use some very expensive software to do a viewshed analysis, but I have found a very afforable alternative. Global Mapper has a built in function to be able to download elevation data from the web and then with a simple puch of a button to run the analysis. You can customize the variables for the tower height and even look at the terrain in 3D. I use have the expensive software (I am sure you know which one I mean) and it is not this easy to perform a line of sight. Global Mapper also has many other great features and the ability to work with a huge variety of file formats, mainly ESRI shapefiles, KML, and Mr. SID imagery. If you think that Global Mapper could be useful, you can download it free to try it out.

The National Map Seamless Server

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:16:23 +0000

The National Map Seamless Server has a lot of useful GIS data. One of the best aspects is that they have ortho imagery that you can download in various formats so that you do not have to convert images if you do not have the ability to view a specific format. This is very useful to those that are using open source GIS software and do not have mr. sid viewers. Here is some links to the GIS data that is available for download.

1 meter Orthoimagery
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Roads
Digital Raster Graphic (DRG)
High Resolution Orthoimagery
Landsat Mosaic Orthoimagery
List of High Resolution Orthoimagery Areas
LP DAAC MODIS
Modis NDVI Direct Broadcast
National Atlas

National Elevation Dataset (NED)
1 Arc Second
1/3 Arc Second
1/9 Arc Second
National LandCover Dataset (NLCD)
1992
2001
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
1 Arc Second
3 Arc Second

Online KML to Shapefile converter

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:29:27 +0000

If you ever have had a client say that they have data that they want you to incorporate into a mapping project but it is in KML format. It is gettign easier to use these consumer formats, and convert them into shapefile for use in professional GIS software. I recently came across the new online version of KML2SHP. WIth this handy online converter you do not even have to download and install software. Simply upload and check the right boxes for the data that you uploaded and you are ready to add the data right into arcGIS software. This tool is part of Zonum Solutions KML Toolbox which has some very useful tools for working with KML file formats. With these new tools it is becoming even easier to use Google Earth as a more complete GIS package. Another benefit could be that you simply tell a client to start a project outline right in Google Earth and they have nice background imagery to look at and start constructing things that they will want in their finished product and you can import them into your professional software and send someone to the field to update the locations and they already have a list of data points so they can easily find the infrastucture that they need to collect data on. I think we are seeing that converting KML to shapefiles can be very useful and will only become easier as many of the professional GIS software companies are adding the ability to read/write or import KML file directly into their GIS packages.

Montana GIS Data

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:09:55 +0000

For a recent project I needed to get some Montana GIS data. During the search I came across the Montana Geographic Information Clearinghouse. The clearinghouse has GIS data sets that you can download for free, such as topo maps, digital elevation models, cadastral data, aerial photographs, and NRCS soil data. They also have a handy tool called the GIS Data Bundler that allows you to choose multiple layers and have them clipped to a geographic area or buffer. Another great service they have is the NRIS Raster Image Service which allows users to connect directly from their GIS software. Check it out for the imagery available and how to connect to their server.

Viewing MrSid Imagery With qgis

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:18:32 +0000

I recently used the OSGEO4W installer to install qgis on a new laptop. I was really surprised how easy it was to get qgis up and running with all the options that are fun to have. Here is a desrciption of all it features from the qgis website.

This is the MSVC based build of QGIS. All dependencies are supplied via the OSGEO4W installer, including python, gdal (including MrSid and ECW Wavelet compressed raster support) etc. This is most suitable for people who have fast internet connections and who want to be able to update dependencies from the OSGEO repository easily.

I had no problems with the installer and love that i can view mr sid imagery along with other data. I think that this was one of the last features that open source GIS packages needed to be highly viable.

Free Wyoming GIS Data

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:39:34 +0000

I do a lot of GIS work in Wyoming and have found that the there is a great amount of GIS data available for free. The Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center is a great resource if you are looking for GIS data for the sate. Their data services include the Wyoming Geolibrary where you can browse data sets by scale, theme, or project. But the best way to download the data is from the WyGISC Data Server which allows you to interactively view and then clip the area that you are interested in and download the data.

Easy Web Map Updating With Google Spreadsheet Mapper

admin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:11:00 +0000

When looking for a easy way to update a clients google map, i ran into google’s Spreadsheet Mapper. It is a pretty crafty way of connecting a google spreadsheet with a google map. It is a spreadsheet entry for creating a kml file that can be displayed in google maps or google earth. The application that we used it for was updating a realitors website with properties that are currently for sale, or have sold. The Spreadsheet Mapper simple has you fill in the information that you want in the ballon and they are created and added to your google spreadsheet. The best part is that if you publish the map in a website you do not have to update any of the code on the website, it will dynamically refresh with any new information that you have entered into the associated spreadsheet. This makes the process easily accomplished by anyone, not just your webmaster or GIS professional. So if you are looking for a not to technical way to create your google maps that are continually being added to check out this Spreadsheet Mapper tutorial .

ArcView Reinstall After an Upgrade

admin — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:13:33 +0000

I just had the misfortune of having my laptop die on me, the result of having my 3 year old dump water on it. So I dug out the ArcView 9.3 install DVD and fired up the old desktop. It took a while but finally got things installed and tried to register is so that I could get back to work. Everything was going good, I found all of my registration numbers and proceeded to enter them. Yikes! the ESRI desktop administrator is telling me that my registrations numbers are in valid. So a quick email to support and I find out that since I had upgraded to ArcView 9.3 that I needed to use a different registration number than I used for the ArcView 9.2 install. So everything is functioning now and I am happily working away again, even though there is quite a bit of performance loss on my old desktop. So I will have to pick up a new laptop.

Arc View 9.3 Improved KML Support

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:19:01 +0000

If you have been using KML in your GIS work flow then the new features of ArcView9.3 will have you jumping up and down. You will no longer have to jump through multiple steps to get your data in to a kml file. This allows you to share your data with non GIS people and have them use a piece of software that they probably are very familiar with. The best use I have found is allowing clients to preview project progress without having to spend time and resources installing unfamilar software for your clients. Check out this video on what Arc View 9.3 can now do with kml.