This week's laboratory assignment was based on terrain and elevation data, and how to best display and communicate it using the tools and capabilities within ArcGIS Pro. From contours, to hillside, to 3D modeling, there are a variety of ways in which one may display varying topography. I often referenced the two readings assigned this week throughout this lab assignment, as the authors provided excellent insight on the types of visualization I would be working with.
Firstly, I was tasked with creating and labeling contour lines on a DEM located in Jackson County, Oregon. I enjoyed creating the contours and labels to make sense to the viewer. Using the mask tool was instrumental in allowing the elevations to be placed within the contour line and not having them cover any of the lines, rather them be placed inside the lines. For my final map layout, I chose to utilize natural elevation symbology (greens to reds) and I adjusted the labels so that they would be visible in this zoomed-out view of the county. I opted for the page label alignment, as this resulted in most labels being right side up when viewing, making the contour labels easier to read. Adjusting the maximum label angle to 30-degrees also aided in allowing for the labels to be upright and easier to read. I chose to select the ‘Place labels in ladders’ option. Laddered contour labels are common in the US; they allow the map viewer to quickly see which contours align to which values consecutively instead of having to scan around the map (Kimerling et al, 2016). Lastly, I chose the ‘Centered Straight’ placement, as I found this was the most visually pleasing and also makes it very clear which label is for which contour line.
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| Contour Labels with Halos |
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| Contour Labels Without Masking |
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| Depth Masking Map Layout |
The next portion of the laboratory assignment involved creating hillshade layers to visualize terrain in the Grand Canyon. I adjusted the azimuth and altitude in the Hillshade tool to better show terrain differences. The first hillshade image utilized the default azimuth and altitude settings provided in the ArcGIS Pro Hillshade tool. This image is lighter in color and depicts the canyon walls well using dark and light tones. The second utilized the azimuth and altitude provided from the NOAA Solar Calculator from the Earth Systems Research Laboratory website. This depiction more so represents a relief reversal, or where hills look like valleys and vice versa (Kimerling et al, 2016). This image is much darker in color, and shows the areas of elevation change/varied terrain in lighter gray highlights. Thus, the two images are drastically different and show the hillshade in two different ways. Though, I believe the first image with the default settings is clearer and shows the terrain changes more accurately than the second.
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| Grand Canyon Hillshade with Default ArcGIS Pro Settings (Azimuth: 315 Altitude: 45) |
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Grand Canyon Hillshade with Realistic Settings (Azimuth: 119.13 Altitude: 3.43)
Next, I aggregated landcover and hillshade layers into a comprehensive map layout that shows Yellowstone National Park. I enjoyed this part of the assignment greatly, as it allowed me to use my own creativity in adjusting the landcover symbology and transparency to show terrain changes throughout the region. I would certainly enjoy creating maps such as these in my future career path. For this map, I chose create and use a multi-directional hillshade. This hillshade allows for light to illuminate the terrain from all directions, as the source of light reflects north-south and east-west, allowing for the best depiction of relief (Kimerling et al, 2016). This allows for more geographic features to be visible when viewing from above. I appreciate how the time of day/year does not necessarily matter with multi-directional hillshade, and it will still show features from all angles in a more accurate manner.
Landcover / Terrain Visualization Map Layout
For the final part of this lab assignment, I created a 3D Local Scene in ArcGIS Pro. I used the 3D TIN layer as the base layer (instead of the default Ground layer), and overlaid it with the 2D imagery. This enhanced the image greatly and showed the terrain in the region in a different way. I then utilized the navigational arrows at the bottom of the map viewer to best show the terrain in the region using an angle opposite of the mountainous region of the map. |
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| 3D Scene Terrain Visualization |
