Mapping Europe

In this project you will create two Europe-focused maps using the ArcExplorer software, for which instructions are available.
Finding the Software
The ArcExplorer software can be found in all general access computer labs, not in the dorms or library. Login and you will see the Start button in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen; now select the Departmental folder, and the Geography folder. Here is what you should see. If you don't find these folders, you need to go to another computer lab that does have these folders!

Finding the Data for ArcExplorer
After you have clicked on Add a Theme, a menu of directories will appear.
Find the directory called DeptDir (this is not the C drive, but usually the W drive), then select geog, Vogeler, Geog111, ArcExplorer, Arcworld, and finally double click on worldcountriesdata.shp and close the Select Theme(s) menu window by clicking on the upper right-hand X.

Making Two Maps

1. Zoom into Europe as much as possible; showing a small bit of North Africa is ok. To get exactly the area you want, use the + magnifying glass symbol and then click on the top left-hand corner of the map and drag down to the lower-right hand corner. Western Europe is the primary focus but include the western parts of Eastern Europe. Don’t include Iceland and Greenland, which is a colony of Denmark!
2. For Map 1, look at the maps in the Europe section of Goode's Atlas, which you rented in the UWEC bookstore.
3. Then examine the kinds of data that you have to make your map.
4. Select the POP_DENSIT variable to make a world population density map similar to the one in the Atlas.
5. With the ArcExplorer software and the worldcountriesdata.shp file opened, click in the box next to the file name for the map to appear.
   Now double click with the left-button of your mouse just under the selected box; a menu will appear.
   Under Classification Value, select unique values and click on the black arrow under field to get another menu with all the variables. Use only POP_DENSIT from this list for Map 1 -- all the other variables will result in unique values for each country in the world.
   Click on the color boxes to select the colors YOU want; click on OK on the color menu and then OK on the map menu to get the final map. If you are printing in black and white, use appropriate shadings.
6. For Map 2, select any other variable in ArcExplorer that YOU think shows the geographical variations within Europe. Under Classification Value, select class breaks and click on the black arrow under the Numeric field to get another menu with all the variables. Select the variable to map. Both maps must show differences between countries within Europe. If the map shows no differences, change the number of class intervals or select a different variable.
7. Adding the map title:
   select the print icon and in the print menu; type in the Map Title box: "the map title -- your name."

Be sure to make well-designed maps, which include

1. a comprehensive title which usually includes three elements:
   * the scale of the map, such as world, a particular world region, country, etc; e.g., in this case "European . . . ;"
   * variable mapped: e.g., "population per square mile;"
   * mapping unit of the data, in this case, "by country."
   A complete map title would, therefore, be "European Population Density by Country."
2. a legend (replace the default word "worldcountriesdata" with what the numbers mean, e.g., square mile, years, calories, numbers, dollars, percent, index), and
3. the source for all these data is Newsweek Education Program, which you must add by hand to the bottom of the map!

Use only 3 to 5 class intervals for the maps. Use the same number of class intervals for all maps so that they can be compared. Select colors that will show patterns when printed in black and white! Usually, set the lowest value to white so the other patterns show-up better on the map

Submit:
Paper copies of two Europe-focused maps. Looking at the map, staple all the maps together in the top left-hand corner with your name in the Map Title box.

  Created by Ingolf Vogeler; last revised on 24 February 2005.