Projections & Coordinate Systems

GIS Lab Exercise 2

By: Evan Kebus

Goal: The main goal of this lab exercise is to evaluate your understanding of  the differences

between geographic and projected coordinate systems. This lab highlights the importance of using the appropriate coordinate systems and projections and being able to identify projection errors in GIS data. You will need to build several data frames displaying feature data of the world in different projections. Main objectives for this exercise are to select Wisconsin from a shapefile of the United States, create a new shapefile, and change the projection for the state. You will work with data sets of different projections and project a data set. Finally you will create a map displaying each of the projection data frames created as well as creating a map showing counties and rivers in central Wisconsin.

Methods: Add layers to the data frame. Change the legends to the appropriate setting. Organize the first data frame & set the projection: Open the Properties dialog box. Under the General tab, change the name of this data frame to Geographic Projection. Under the Coordinate System tab, set it to the Geographic Projection. Select the appropriate coordinate system. Change the data frame projection. Open the data frame Properties dialog box and select the Coordinate System tab. Choose the coordinate system: Favorite - Projected Coordinate Systems- World- Mercator(world). Click OK.  Zoom to full extent window. Create additional data frames: Repeat the steps above to create three more data frames. For the last data frame choose a different projection of your choice but be sure it is appropriate for the World.

- Title:  Sinusoidal  (Favorites - Projected Coordinate System- World-, Sinusoidal)

- Title:  Equidistant-Conic  (Favorites,-Projected Coordinate System-World- Equidistant Conic)

- Title: (pick one of your choice) 
Add all 7 projections to one dispay with titles, scales and your name.

For the next section create a data frame for Wisconsin data. Change the Wisconsin projection. Change the symbolization and set the data frame coordinate system to UTM, NAD 1983, Zone 16N.  (Hint: UTM is one of the options under the Projected Coordinate Systems). Create a new data frame in ArcMap.  Insert a new data frame and name the new data frame States. Add the stroads_miv5a to the States data frame. Add the states.shp from your folder to the States data frame. Change the Projection of the states.shp to match the projection of the stroads_miv5a.shp file. This is very important that they have the same projected coordinate system. Open up ArcToolbox and project the states shapefile to the same projection as the stroads_miv5a shapefile. Expand the following tool boxes Data Management-Projections and Transformations- Feature-Project, this should open the Project Tool. Input the states shapefile file by choosing it from the drop down menu. Accept the default name for the new file states_Project.shp. Click on the button next to Output coordinate system. In the next window click on Import. Navigate to your folder and then click on the stroads_miv5a.shp. Data Frame Properties: Open up the States Data Frame Properties window.  Go to the coordinate system tab. Change the projection to Projected coordinate systems- Continental- North America- North American Lambert Conformal Conic. From the folder Central_Wisconsin, add the shapefile Central_WI_Cts.shp. Bring in the shapefile Lower_Chip_strms.shp. This is a polyline feature of rivers and streams in Eau Claire and adjacent counties. Add a scale, compass, legend and your name.

Results: You should have two complete maps at the end of this exercise and you should be more familiar with projections & coordinate systems in ArcMaps. One map should be of Central Wisconsin Rivers and Streams when you fix and align the coordinate systems. The other should be a display of 7 different map projections (one of your choosing).

Source: Roads features are from Michigan Department of Transportation.

Central Wisconsin data and all others are from the mgisdata that comes with the Price book.

Fig 1. 7 Map Display

Fig 2. Central Wisconsin Rivers and Streams