Week 5- Projections

This week in Intro2GIS our focus was map projections. Along with learning about the different map projections we also saw how important metadata can be, specifically spatial references. In ArcMap we explored re-projecting vector and raster files as well as adding spatial references to files that were missing them. I have heard that missing or incomplete metadata was a huge problem but after this week I can certainly see why. How can you analyze data accurately if you don't know if the point file you are looking at is actually overlayed on a map or image with the same projection?

The process of re-projecting a file in ArcMap was pretty simple using the tools available in the ArcToolbox since we were given the coordinate systems to utilize. Doing this on my own without a lab guide would have taken a little more research to make sure I was picking the correct type of projection for the region and data I was trying to display. The graphic below is my final product for this week. It compares the areas of several counties in Florida and was based on one polygon vector file projected three different ways. It was really interesting to see how different the measurements can be simply by using different projections. After looking at the completed graphic I was happy to see that projection most commonly used by state and local governments (State Plane N) is also the one that measured the smallest areas. Hopefully that means less property taxes for everyone!