Lab 7

This map represents the percent of black population by county of the continental United States.  The data used is from the U.S. Census from the year 2000.  This map shows where the highest concentration of black populations are, largely in the southern portion of the United States, near the perimeter of the country (rather than inland).  States such as Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina appear to have some of the highest percent of black populations in the U.S.  There also are a few counties in California that are shaded a dark color purple meaning that there is a large percent population of blacks in those areas as well.  

This map shows the percent of Asian population by county in the 48 states of the continental United States.  It was also created using the 2000 U.S. Census data.  This map shows that the Asian populations are highest on the west coast, especially in California.  As you move east across the map it appears that the Asian populations decrease.  However there are some areas on the east coast that appear to also have high percent populations of Asians, these include Florida and along the northeastern part of the U.S.

My final map is of the percent populations of other races by county, based on the 2000 U.S. Census data.  This map represents the other races that are not categorized separately, the races not grouped into their own larger category.  It shows that these 'other races' have much higher populations on the western half of the country.  These 'other races' do tend to have higher percent populations in Florida and along a few other states on the east coast but for the most part are centralized on the west coast.  

Overall my census map series is very informational and is a great way to display race population data because it provides a visual that makes it clear where some races' percent density are higher by showing them in a darker shade and then gradually fading to white, showing where a specific race is not so highly populated.  Displaying the U.S. Census data in this way is very effective because it visually displays the information making it easy to analyze and understand.  

Coming into this class I was unsure of what the capabilities of ArcGIS were.  Now having taken this class I realize the importance of GIS and mapmaking to the world and everyday life.  Maps are a great way to display information, and ArcGIS is the tool necessary to create these maps.  Maps and geography are such an important part of the world, and location information is crucial.  ArcGIS is a complicated program that one must have knowledge about to use.  Although sometimes very challenging and time consuming I found that as long as I was patient ArcGIS was not too difficult to use.  It was very specific and required some tedious work.  ArcGIS is a very powerful tool that allows for a wide variety of mapmaking.