Using Data from the Geography Network with Arcgis

If you’ve used any GIS tools in your EAST lab at all, you probably know that it’s all about data. In other words:

§  If you want to make a map, you’ve got to have data.

§  If you want to analyze a problem, you’ve got to have data.

The logical question that always gets asked is “where do I get data?” Your friends at here at CAST usually send you to places like GeoStor (Arkansas) or CASIL (California) to locate and download data layers that you need. Today we’d like to tell you about a different way to use data with ArcGIS: it’s called the Geography Network.

The Geography Network (http://www.geographynetwork.com) is described as a “…global network of geographic information users and providers” that “…provides the infrastructure needed to support the sharing of geographic information among data providers, service providers, and users around the world.” It is sponsored by ESRI, the same company that developed and sells ArcGIS. You can browse the Web site and download geographic data for all around the world, but the coolest thing is that you can directly connect to the Geography Network using ArcMap, ArcGlobe, ArcScene, or any of the other ArcGIS tools. This allows you to browse through their data catalog just like it was on your own computer, and then display the data on your desktop, using it for maps and analysis. Here’s how you do it:

1.  Let’s say you’re working in ArcMap. Click the tool button to “Add Data” (that’s the one that looks like a big plus sign). It’ll open the Add Data window.

2.  Where it says “Look in:”, pull down and scroll all the way to the bottom, where you’ll see an entry called “GIS Servers”. After you select it, you’ll see four options, including one that says “Geography Network Services hosted by ESRI”. Double-click on that one, and after a minute or two (depending on the speed of your network), you’ll see a whole bunch of data layers appear!

3.  Let’s choose something interesting, like “ESRI Tsunami”, and click the Add button:

4.  Although it may take a minute or two to load, you will eventually get a data set that covers the entire globe:

5.  Let’s see what happens as you zoom in:

6.  The further you zoom, the more information becomes visible. If you click on the “+” next to “ESRI_Tsunami” in the Table of Contents, you’ll see all the layers which are included:

7.  You can view the same data in ArcGlobe or ArcScene by following the same steps:

8.  Lastly, be sure to investigate the different datasets which are available. Be sure to look at one or more of the Census datasets, and be sure to try zooming in to your town or city. However, I think my personal favorite is the NASA Mars dataset – try it in ArcGlobe!!

Malcolm Williamson, CAST 2005