GIS For Dummies

Introduction 1

Part I: GIS: Geography on Steroids 7

Chapter 1: Seeing the Scope of GIS 9

Chapter 2: Recognizing How Maps Show Information 23

Chapter 3: Reading, Analyzing, and Interpreting Maps 39

Part II: Geography Goes Digital 57

Chapter 4: Creating a Conceptual Model 59

Chapter 5: Understanding the GIS Data Models 73

Chapter 6: Keeping Track of Data Descriptions 93

Chapter 7: Managing Multiple Maps 109

Chapter 8: Gathering and Digitizing Geographic Data 117

Part III: Retrieving, Counting, and Characterizing Geography 135

Chapter 9: Finding Information in Raster Systems 137

Chapter 10: Finding Features in Vector Systems 147

Chapter 11: Searching for Geographic Objects, Distributions, and Groups 65

Part IV: Analyzing Geographic Patterns 181

Chapter 12: Measuring Distance 183

Chapter 13: Working with Statistical Surfaces 199

Chapter 14: Exploring Topographical Surfaces 213

Chapter 15: Working with Networks 225

Chapter 16: Comparing Multiple Maps 239

Chapter 17: Map Algebra and Model Building 253

Part V: GIS Output and Application 277

Chapter 18: Producing Cartographic Output 279

Chapter 19: Generating Non-Cartographic Output 293

Chapter 20: GIS in Organizations 301

Part VI: The Part of Tens 315

Chapter 21: Ten GIS Software Vendors 317

Chapter 22: Ten Questions to Ask Potential Vendors 329

Chapter 23: Ten GIS Data Sources 333

Index 343