Monday, December 27, 2010

Mapping America: Every City, Every Block

You can browse local data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, based on samples from 2005 to 2009. Because these figures are based on samples, they are subject to a margin of error, particularly in places with a low population, and are best regarded as estimates. Here are some examples.

If you are interested in creating your own flashmaps like these, check out StatPlanet.









Check out StatPlanet to make your own flash-based web maps.

Free GIS Software, Shapefiles, Maps and Tutorials

Check out the NY Times Mapping America: Every City, Every Block.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Caliper Releases Maptitude 6.0: Easy to Use, Affordable and Includes New Geodata

Caliper's Maptitude has always been a powerful and very affordable GIS program. We've used Maptitude in all of our projects for over a decade. Now version 6.0 is even better. Amazing value!



Learn More About Maptitude 6.0

2010 National Transportation Atlas ArcGIS Map Layer Shapefiles Download

The free 2010 NTAD (National Transportation Atlas Database) shapefiles include railroads, ports, national parks, counties, states, highways, hazardous waste routes, airports, runways and much more.

Download the 2010 NTAD Shapefiles Here

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Flashmap Interactive Flash Based Webmap - Electricity Use by Country

I'm just totally amazed by the power and ease of use of StatPlanet. I've created my first one using UN electricity use data by country. Future plans include creating more flash based webmaps using shapefiles and tabular data.



MapCruzin Flash Based Interactive Webmap Project

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Easy Free Interactive GIS Website Maps: Use Spreadsheet Data and Shapefiles

Amazing free software! Every once in awhile a truly great free GIS product shows up and Statplanet is the best I've seen for making flash-based interactive maps and graphs for websites.



Here's a little blurb from their website:

What is StatPlanet

StatPlanet is a browser-based interactive data visualization and mapping application. Use it to easily and rapidly create basic interactive Flash maps as well as feature-rich infographics.

Here for more information and to download StatPlanet

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Climate Change Global Warming Shapefiles - Changes in Temperature and Precipitation from 2010 through 2099

With these detailed shapefiles you can find out more about the effects of climate change from 2010 through 2099 anywhere in the United States.

IPCC 4th Assessment scenario A2 temperature and precipitation GIS shapefile map layers for the years 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040, 2050, 2060, 2070, 2080, 2090 and 2099. The data points are spaced approximately 4.5 km (2.8 miles) apart. The data covers the lower 48 United States. Each point includes data for each of the 12 months of the year, making comparisons and calculations of increases or decreases between months and decades possible.

About the A2 Scenario

The A2 storyline and scenario family describes a very differentiated and heterogeneous world. The underlying theme is self-reliance and preservation of local identities. Emphasis on economic, social, and cultural interactions between regions is less than in other storylines. Fertility patterns across regions converge very slowly, which results in high population growth. Economic development is uneven, the income gap between now-industrialized and developing parts of the world does not narrow, and per capita economic growth and technological change are more fragmented and slower than in other storylines. Main characteristics A2 scenario include: high population growth, medium GDP growth, high energy use, medium-high land use changes, low resource (mainly oil and gas) availability, slow pace and direction of technological change favoring regional economic development.

Learn More and Download IPCC 4th Assessment GIS Shapefiles

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Update: AVG has fixed the adsense blocking problem

Hi - I checked my webpages with the AVG 2011 link scanner turned on today and all seemed well - adsense ads were showing. Later I received and email from AVG saying that they had performed a remote workaround and would fix it permanently in the next update. My hat is off to the folks at AVG engineering. They jumped on this quickly and provided a fix within hours.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Have a Website? AVG Antivirus May Be Blocking Adsense Ads

Hi - Since many of you who come to MapCruzin.com have websites that depend on adsense revenue I thought I should pass this along

The other day I upgraded my AVG Antivirus program to the latest 2011 version. Today I was looking at my website, MapCruzin.com, and to my dismay my adsense ads were not appearing. This was very serious as my income from ads on the website allows me to continue to add valuable content to the website.

My other website, RecyclingSecrets.com does not currently have adsense ads but I added a few to test it and they didn't show up either.

Fortunately I had only upgraded 2 of my computers. The third still had the older version of AVG Antivirus so I checked it. To my surprise my ads and ads on other websites were appearing just fine.

I went back to my original computer and checked other websites that I knew had adsense ads and they weren't appearing there either.

So, I looked through AVG 2011 to see if I can find the trouble. After a lot of time testing I finally discovered that turning off the AVG link scan solved the problem.

My big worry is that this is a new release of AVG and as people upgrade most will have the link scan enabled meaning that lots of webmasters like me will lose needed revenue until this is fixed.

So... check your websites and if you have the same problem I encourage you to contact Google Adsense and AVG Antivirus and encourage them to fix this quickly.

Thanks

Mike
RecyclingSecrets.com
Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business Manual

MapCruzin.com
Free GIS Software, Maps, Shapefiles, Tutorials and Resources for Geographers and Cartographers

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Indian and Federal Lands ArcGIS Shapefiles Updated

Indian & Federal Lands
ArcGIS Shapefiles

Click here if you are new to GIS and you
want to know what it is and how it is used.

Coverage: All U.S. including Hawaii and Alaska.

I have updated the shapefiles to include a .prj file. The latest version of ArcGIS Explorer (build 1500) requires these files. Some other GIS viewers and programs do not. ArcGIS Explorer is a fine program, but I've found that it needs a quite fast computer with a lot of memory to run well. You can download ArcGIS Explorer here or you can check out some free GIS viewers that are simpler and take less resources. You can use any of these to load, view and query the maps you make with these shapefiles.

TatukGIS Viewer 19.3 mb
TatukGIS Viewer documentation 2.2 mb
ArcExplorer 2.2 13.5 mb
ArcExplorer Java 63.6 mb

These ArcGIS shapefiles work with the free ArcExplorer GIS viewer, ArcView GIS, ArcGIS, Maptitude, Mapinfo, Manifold, TatukGIS and many other commercial GIS and mapping programs and many free GIS programs as well. Each layer includes easy to follow instructions that show you how to add streets, highways, census information and much more to your maps for free. We have included national level base maps with each map archive listed below. Also, check our free GIS software and free GIS ArcGIS shapefiles pages for more information and free ArcGIS shapefiles.

Read full page with live links

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Make Your Own Maps with Free GIS Software Programs

Comprehensive collection of GIS software program applications and resources that is updated frequently. Most are either freeware or open-source. They are organized in alphabetical order.

Python is a remarkably powerful dynamic programming language that is used in a wide variety of application domains.

Python Cartographic Library (PCL) - Python is rapidly becoming the language of choice for GIS programming. At the fore of this movement have been AVPython, OpenEV, and Python bindings for GDAL and OGR. On their heels, ESRI now distributes Python with Arc 9 and other commercial vendors are following suit.

Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) that runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, and Windows. QGIS supports vector, raster, and database formats. QGIS is licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS lets you browse and create map data on your computer. It supports many common spatial data formats (e.g. ESRI ShapeFile, geotiff). QGIS supports plugins to do things like display tracks from your GPS. QGIS is Open Source software and its free of cost.

RevPG (Revision and Product Generation software) - RevPG is a collection of ARC/INFO Arc Macro Language (AML) programs, C routines, shell scripts, and interface menus that support the revision of digital line graph (DLG) data with ARC/INFO.

R-Project (rgeo) is a comprehensive statistics package including several support modules for geospatial analysis, among them an interface for GRASS.

SAGA - System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses - is a hybrid GIS software. The first objective of SAGA is to give (geo-)scientists an effective but easy learnable platform for the implementation of geoscientific methods, which is achieved by SAGA's unique Application Programming Interface (API).

SAMT - Spatial Analysis and Modelling Tool - A modeling system with a few GIS-features, like spatial analysis, some spatial techniques and a simple in and export function to a GIS. The main focus is to have an open system to include different models.

SaTScan is a free software that analyzes spatial, temporal and space-time data using the spatial, temporal, or space-time scan statistics. It is designed for any of the following interrelated purposes ...

sdts2d is a Translator for SDTS DEM Files The sdts2dem program translates USGS DEM files from SDTS format to "native" format. It is in the public domain and may be freely redistributed.

SDTS Public Domain Software - Although these programs have been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy and functioning of the programs and related program material, nor shall the fact of distribution constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in connection therewith.

SharpMap is a simple-to-use map renderer that renders GIS data for use in web and desktop applications. The engine is written in C# and based on the .NET 2.0 framework.

Spatial Index: This package provides a general framework for developing spatial indices. Currently it defines generic interfaces, provides simple main memory and disk based storage managers and a robust implementation of an R*-tree, an MVR-tree and a TPR-tree.

SPRING is a state-of-the-art GIS and remote sensing image processing system with an object-oriented data model which provides for the integration of raster and vector data representations in a single environment.

TatukGIS Viewer: A free GIS viewer and mapping application supporting most GIS vector, image, grid, and SQL database layer formats, 3,0000 pre-defined coordinate systems with on-the-fly map layer reprojection, comprehensive visual layer property control, legend control, scale control, data viewing panel, and much more!

Thuban is an interactive geographic data viewer. Main features are its cross-plattform GUI, extensability and flexibility for deriving individual GIS applications. Thuban is implemented with wxPython which allows its GUI to blend in with desktop on different platforms.

Download Free GIS Mapping Software Applications

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Free Disease and Mortality Maps

Includes:

All Cancers

All Causes

Breast Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

COPD

Diabetes

Firearm Homicide

Firearm Suicide

Heart Disease

HIV

Homicide

Liver Disease

Lung Cancer

Motor Vehicle Injuries

Pneumonia - Influenza

Prostate Cancer

Stroke

Suicide

Unintentional Injuries

Download Free Disease and Mortality Maps

Download Mexico Canada U.S. Transportation ArcGIS Shapefiles

Includes railroads, highways, border crossings, ports, states, provinces, airports, intermodal, auto ramps... for Mexico, United States and Canada

Download Free North American GIS Shapefile Maps

New to GIS? Learn more about it and take advantage of our Free Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Shapefile Atlas

GIS Software Program Application for Students & Educators

When I needed to learn GIS it was not supported in my college sociology program so I had to finance myself. Unfortunately then there were few free options and none suited my purpose. Things have changed in the 20 years since then. Students and educators can now take advantage of the free and open source GIS programs and tools that are available. Also, we offer a free GIS tutorial and shapefile atlas. See links at bottom of this post. Here are some of the GIS software applications and tools available there are many many more:


Chameleon is a distributed, highly configurable, environment for developing Web Mapping applications. Chameleon is OpenSource, this means that you can use it freely for your own applications, and that you also have access to the source code.

Community MapBuilder - MapBuilder is a powerful, standards compliant, open source geographic mapping client which runs in a web browser. Using MapBuilder, Web designers can concentrate on the presentation and usability using HTML with simple links to the MapBuilder JavaScript code.

CPSGeo - Simple GIS for CPS - Cartographic maps are extremely useful tools for analyzing and summarizing information with a spatial component, and many CPS documents have a spatial component: events happen at places, and reports are often concerned with places.

CRAN Task View: Analysis of Spatial Data - For spatial analysis, disease and ecological mapping and more.

CrimeStat III is Windows-based and interfaces with most desktop GIS programs. The purpose is to provide supplemental statistical tools to aid law enforcement agencies and criminal justice researchers in their crime mapping efforts.

CycleAtlas is a free, open-source software for managing track rides, mainly intented for cycling and other open air sports.

DC Maintenance Management System - A web-based maintenance management system for water and wastewater networks. Allows to store customer complaints and issue workorder sheets.Rather than using street names, maps and landmarks are used for navigation.

deegree - Free Software for Spatial Data Infrastructures - offers the substantial building blocks for the building of a Spatial Data Infrastructure by implementing the standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium. Deegree components can be used to either develop a standalone desktop mapping solution to be locally installed on a users machine, or to set up a highly distributed and service-based infrastructure.

Free GIS Software and Tools for Students and Educators

Free Learn2Map GIS Mapping Tutorial and Shapefile Atlas

GIS Mapping Software Applications and Tools Download Free

More new additions to free and open source GIS mapping programs. Here are a few:


NRDB (Natural Resources Database) is a free database and mapping application for developing and distributing environmental databases. Its aim is to provide people in developing countries with a powerful yet simple tool to assist in the managing of their own resources.

OGR Simple Features Library is a C++ open source library (and commandline tools) providing read (and sometimes write) access to a variety of vector file formats including ESRI Shapefiles, and Mapinfo mid/mif and TAB formats.

OpenDMTP, is a protocol and framework that allows bi-directional data communications between servers and devices (clients) over the Internet and similar networks. OpenDMTP is particularly geared towards Location-based information (LBS) such as GPS, as well as temperature and other data collected in remote-monitoring devices.

OpenEV is a software library and application for viewing and analysing raster and vector geospatial data. OpenEV is used by private companies, universities, governments and non-profit organizations around the world.

OpenGTS - The "Open GPS Tracking System" is the first available open source project designed specifically to provide web-based GPS tracking services for a "fleet" of vehicles.

OpenLayers is a pure JavaScript library for displaying map data in most modern web browsers, with no server-side dependencies. OpenLayers implements a (still-developing) JavaScript API for building rich web-based geographic applications, similar to the Google Maps and MSN Virtual Earth APIs, with one important difference -- OpenLayers is Free Software, developed for and by the Open Source software community.

OpenMap is a Java Beans based toolkit for building applications and applets needing geographic information. Using OpenMap components, you can access data from legacy applications, in-place, in a distributed setting. At its core, OpenMap is a set of Swing components that understand geographic coordinates.

Orbit EOS Lite Free GIS Map Server - EOS is the scalable, extenable Orbit Server system, used for corporate and internet GIS data sharing. EOS supports most popular data formats, and can be extended with functionalities such as geoprocessing or gis-data related database access and transaction control.

Orbit Explorer GIS Freeware - Orbit Geospatial Technologies presents Orbit Explorer Freeware 4.4 for Windows 32 and 64bit, 4.1 for Linux and Unix 32 and 64bit, and 4.3 for Mac OSX systems on G4, G5 and Intel Dual Core machines. The Orbit Explorer Desktop solution now comes with full OGC WMS supportover 50 new and improved functionalities.

Find more and download free GIS mapping program software

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Free and Open Source GIS Mapping Software Program Applications

I have added some new open source and freeware GIS software programs. Here's a listing of some of the GIS applications included:

Geocoding - Map Channels offers free single address and batch geocoding.

GEODAS (GEOphysical DAta System) data management system can be run in Microsoft Windows, UNIX Xwindows and Macintosh OS-X environments. GEODAS software accesses all GEODAS Databases, including Marine Trackline Geophysics, NOS Hydrographic Surveys, Coastal Relief Model, ETOPO2 Gridded Elevations and Great Lakes Bathymetry DVD sets.

Geodetic software developed by the National Geodetic Survey (NCS). Free downloads - dozens of programs.

Geographic Foundation Class (GFC)Library is a set of C++ classes defining basic geographic data types, including points, lines, rectangles, circles, polylines, rings, complex polygons, rasters, and other atomic data types such as integer, real, varchar. GFC also features abstractions of timestamps and time series which are useful in capturing the dynamics of spatiotemporal data.

Geopublisher Software allows you to quickly create digital multimedia atlases and publish them. Visit the demo atlases page to take a look at some publically available atlases or check out the features list to get an impression about the possibilities.

GeoServer - GeoServer is an Open Source server that connects your information to the Geospatial Web. You can publish and edit data using open standards. Your information is made available in a large variety of formats as maps/images or actual geospatial data.

Geospatial Explorer has been written to enable geologists, environmental scientists, and engineers to apply innovative science and technology to enhance and expedite the reduction of risk to human health and the environment. Geospatial Explorer permits the user to identify, understand, and solve complex environmental problems better, faster, and cheaper.

Geographic Translator (GEOTRANS) is an application program which allows users to easily convert geographic coordinates among a wide variety of coordinate systems, map projections, and datums. GEOTRANS runs in both Microsoft Windows (95/98/NT) and UNIX Motif environments.

geos (Geometry Engine Open Source (GEOS)) is a C++ port of the Java Topology Suite (JTS). As such, it aims to contain the complete functionality of JTS in C++. This includes all the OpenGIS "Simple Features for SQL" spatial predicate functions and spatial operators, as well as specific JTS topology functions such as IsValid().

GeoTools is Java code library which provides standards compliant methods for the manipulation of geospatial data, for example to implement Geographic Information Systems. The GeoTools library implements OGC specifications as they are developed, in close collaboration with the GeoAPI and GeoWidgets projects.

GeoVISTA Studio is an open software development environment designed for geospatial data. Studio is a programming-free environment that allows users to quickly build applications for geocomputation and geographic visualization.

Access all the free and open source GIS program applications

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Download Free GPS Maps and Software Programs for Tracking and Navigation

Free GPS receiver unit software and maps for tracking, auto, bluetooth, phone, and portable handheld GPS devices. We'll be adding free GPS maps of all parts of the world for Garmin Nuvi and other GPS models, Magellan GPS, TomTom GPS, GPX and Navit.

Download Free GPS Maps and Software

World Energy Maps by Country Free Download

Included maps: resources, transportation, solar, wind, consumption, network, oil and gas, oil fields ... more

Download Free World Energy Maps

Free Geography Maps of U.S. States Download Free

Download these geography maps for your reports, websites, research, projects, presentations. High resolution JPG or PDF images of U.S. States. Includes state maps, historical maps, outline maps, national park maps...

Download Free U.S. State Maps

Learn the Basics of GIS Geographic Information Systems for Free

In just a few minutes you can begin to learn how to create sophisticated maps. The easy-to-follow step-by-step distance learning online tutorial is based on free resources. There is nothing to purchase. All you need to begin mapping today is the free Learn2Map Tutorial and Shapefile Atlas.

Most of us use maps frequently. We usually use them to figure out how to get from here to there. Without simple street maps this relatively easy task would be much more difficult. We would have to read instructions, line-by-line, and sort of imagine the geography described in the instructions and superimpose that with what we see as we progress to our destination. We have probably all done this. Maps make this task so much easier. But maps are more than a navigational aid. They can show us relationships that we could never see by pouring through pages of data. Maps can provide answers to questions not found elsewhere and make you ask questions you never would have thought to ask. Maps bring raw and often boring data to life.

Learn more and access the free Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Shapefile Atlas

Saturday, September 18, 2010

What is GIS? Learn what it is and how to use it

Maps have been used for thousands of years, but it is only within the last few decades that the technology has existed to combine maps with computer graphics and databases to create geographic information systems or GIS. The themes in the above graphic are only a small example of the wide array of information that can view or analyze with a GIS.



GIS is used to display and analyze spatial data which are tied to databases. This connection is what gives GIS its power: maps can be drawn from the database and data can be referenced from the maps. When a database is updated, the associated map can be updated as well. GIS databases include a wide variety of information including: geographic, social, political, environmental, and demographic.

Read full article at MapCruzin.com

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Free TatukGIS Viewer GIS Program

TatukGIS Viewer is a free, slimmed down version of the Editor product, without features for creating/editing data and for customization with scripts. The feature list for the Editor and free Viewer products is presented in the Feature Matrix.



Read More and download TatukGIS Viewer

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Line Graph of Israeli Settlement Growth in Palestine

Graph created from data collected from Peace Now and B'Tselem who obtained it from the Israeli Bureau of Statistics.

I, Factomancer, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.

Read More and Download High Resolution Image

Photograph of a Neighbourhood in Ariel, West Bank

Transferred from he.wikipedia;source, created by Michael Jacobson (benben24 at walla dot co dot il) Author

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Download High Resolution Image

Map of Israeli Settlements on West Bank and Gaza

Produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - public UN source. Detailed map of Israeli settlements on the West Bank, January 2006.

Israeli settlements are Jewish only settlements" built by the Israel on occupied and confiscated land that is occupied through wars (such as the Six-Day War) and forceful evacuation of the indigenous people from their homes in Palestinian West Bank. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The latter two areas are governed under Israeli civil law but all three territories are considered to be under military occupation by the international community.

Read More and Download High Resolution Map

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Map and Analyze Toxic Release Inventory Data with TRI.NET

Note: This is an excellent compliment to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory-Chemical Hazard Information Profiles Tool.



TRI.NET ("T-R-I-dot-net") is a new application developed by EPA to help you analyze Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) information. This application is capable of easily and quickly performing complex queries to help you understand TRI information. It is especially useful for analysts who need a highly interactive environment in order to refine their queries and analyses in an efficient and productive way. TRI.NET makes heavy use of mashups using the latest mapping technologies to help visualize where TRI releases are occurring.

Features

TRI.NET has a number of powerful features that can enhance TRI query results. These features include:

  • Maps - You can map facilities in your results using Google Maps, Google Earth, or Virtual Earth.
  • My TRI Neighborhood - You can limit your results to facilities located within a specified distance of an address.
  • Drill Down - You can quickly retrieve additional details about a row in your results.
  • Advanced Trends - You can quickly view year-to-year changes to spot trends and isolate changes.
  • EPA Reports - You can find reports for the facilities in your results in other EPA data systems.
  • Data Layers - Additional data layers allow TRI data to be analyzed with respect to other factors such as Environmental Justice, Chemical Toxicity, and Tribal and U.S. Mexico Border geographies.
The User's Guide provides detailed instructions on how to use these features. Guidance ...

Access TRI.Net Data and Maps

Toxics Release Inventory-Chemical Hazard Information Profiles - TRI-CHIP

Note: This is an excellent compliment to EPA's TRI.Net Toxic Release Inventory Mapping and Data Analyzing Tool.



TRI's searchable database system that contains hazard information for chemicals included on the Toxics Release Inventory. Searches can be customized across a single chemical, a set of specific chemicals or a TRI chemical category of interest. Click here for instructions on downloading and installing TRI-CHIP. Your comments concerning the applicability, user friendliness or potential improvements of TRI-CHIP are greatly appreciated. Please send comments to: John Scalera and Daniel R. Bushman, Ph.D of the Office of Environmental Information /Office of Information Analysis and Access.



Access the TRI-CHIP Profiles

Friday, August 6, 2010

U.S. Economy Maps: Foreclosure, Jobs, Unemployment, Employment, Mortgage, Recovery...

Compehensive collection of maps from U.S. Government and other sources. Keep track of the economy.

United States Government Maps

U.S. Unemployment by State/County/MSA - Interactive Maps, Latest month available (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Unemployment Rates by State, Seasonally Adjusted, Latest month available (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and PDF version

Unemployment Rates by Metropolitan Area, Not Seasonally Adjusted, Latest month available (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and PDF version

Bank Card and Mortgage Maps (Federal Reserve Bank of New York)

GeoFred - Geographic Federal Reserve Economic Data (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

Nonprime Mortgage Maps (Federal Reserve Bank of New York)

Percent Change in Population for States and Puerto Rico, July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009 (U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Recovery Act Recipients Map (Recovery.gov)

Other Economy Maps

U.S. Unemployment Rates - Animated (Jan. 2007-latest available month) (Latoya Egwuekwe)

Americans Struggle to Pay Mortgages (3rd Quarter, 2009) (AP/Daylife)

Bank Financial Performance Map (Investigative Reporting Workshop)

Economic Stress Index: Measuring Financial Strain by County (AP)

Economy Tracker (CNN)

General Motors Interactive Map (Detroit News)

Geography of a Recession - Interactive Map (New York Times) map updated July 7, 2009

Geography of Jobs (Tipstrategies)

Lost Jobs Interactive Map (Slate)

U.S. Gas Price Map (GasBuddy)

U.S. Jobs Forecast [updated monthly] (USA Today)

U.S. Unemployment (Slate)

U.S. Unemployment Rates [September 2009] (Detroit Free Press)

Well-Being Index Maps (USA Today)

When Did Your County's Jobs Disappear? (Slate) Map updated August 10, 2009

When Nation's Job Markets Will Return to Normal (Sacramento Bee)

Access the U.S. Economy Maps

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Iran Nuclear, Political, Cultural Maps

Free maps in high resolution formats for projects, research, papers, websites and presentations. Learn more about Iran.

Download Iran Maps

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Geographic Geospatial Download: DEM, DLG, LULC

Download Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Digital Line Graph (DLG) and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) USGS Geospatial Data.

1:250,000 & 1:100,000 Scale Land Use Land Cover (LULC)

USGS LULC download


Article and Access to Geodata downloads

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Global Aerosol from Earth Observation (GlobAerosol) Geodata Maps

The GlobAEROSOL generates daily global aerosol maps for the period 1995-2007 by merging ATSR-2, AATSR, MERIS and SEVIRI satellite data. The products produced are aerosol optical depths at 0.55 and 0.87um and Angstrom coefficient and estimated speciation.

This dataset comprises the following product types:

ATSR-2 Orbit-based Pixel Counts. These are supplementary files generated for ATSR-2 alone, which contain the number of instrument pixels from each channel which were included in each retrieval grid cell. Individual-sensor Orbit-based Aerosol Products (IOAP). These files contain all the output of the individual sensor retrievals, with coverage corresponding to that of the original level 1 (radiance) data from the sensor.

Individual-sensor Global Aerosol Products (IGAP). These constitute bias-corrected daily maps of aerosol properties derived from each sensor, at a specific time of day. For ORAC retrievals results are only reported for the "best" aerosol type (and this type is identified). In all cases the IGAPs contain estimates of aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm and 865 nm and the Angstrom coefficient...

Full article and access the Global Aerosol Geodata

The Ionia website provides access to a number of Earth Observation Level 3 and Level 4 productsThe Ionia website provides access to a number of Earth Observation Level 3 and Level 4 products

The Ionia website provides access to a number of Earth Observation Level 3 and Level 4 products generated by ESA projects, using a variety of instruments, including non-ESA satellite data.

Earth Observation Satellite Data


These products have been generated mostly as a result of projects run through the ESA Data User Programme (DUP) and Data User Element (DUE). In addition, some products were generated through ESA internal projects. This is the case in particular of the ATSR fire atlas products.

Why this name?

Read balance of article and access the IONA satellite data

Global Soil Moisture Data from MetOp Satellites

Global, coarse-resolution soil moisture data (25-50 km) are derived from backscatter measurements acquired with scatterometers onboard the satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2 (1991 to present) and the three MetOp satellites (2006-2020). Two different product types are derived:

ERS / MetOp Soil Moisture


* Level 2 products representing the soil moisture content within a thin soil surface layer (< 2 cm) during the time of overflight of the satellite. * Level 3 products representing the water content in the soil profile, regularly sampled in space and time. The Level 2 surface soil moisture (SSM) data are derived using a change detection method that relies upon the multi-incidence observation capabilities of the ERS and METOP scatterometers to model the effects of vegetation phenology. The surface soil moisture values are scaled between 0 and 1, representing zero soil moisture and saturation respectively. Retrieval is not possible over tropical forest which affects about 6.5% of the land surface area.

Balance of Articles and access the MetOp Global Soil Moisture Geodata

Thursday, July 22, 2010

MODIS Land Cover and Land Cover Dynamics Research

This site provides information regarding the MODIS land cover product (MOD12) including descriptions of algorithms, links to where the data can be obtained, contact information for personnel working on the project, and references to key papers that have been published describing algorithm development and applications of the MOD12 products.

Land Cover Dynamics


The menu at the top of the page provides links to pages with more information on each of these topics.

Access the MODIS Land Cover Group website

Climate, Land Use, and Environmental Sensitivity (CLUES) Geospatial Data & Interactive Maps

Vegetation changes caused by climatic variations and/or land use may have large impacts on forests, agriculture, rangelands, natural ecosystems, and endangered species. Climate modeling studies indicate that vegetation cover, in turn, has a strong influence on regional climates, and this must be better understood before models can estimate future environmental conditions. To address these issues, this project investigates vegetational response to climatic change, and vegetation-land surface impacts on climate change.

Climate Change Vegetation Maps


Full review and access to CLUES maps and geospatial data

VMap1 Global Geospatial Intelligence Agency ArcGIS Shapefiles

VMap1 data is distributed in VPF format for the part of the globe and freely downloadable via National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Geodata is available in ArcGIS shapefile format.

VMap1 shapefiles


The website provides access to this data in ESRI shape format. Data is distributed by tiles.

Access the VMap1 Shapefiles

Next version of Widely known DCW Digital Chart of the World in Shapefile Format

Global VMap0 dataset is distributed in original VPF format and available through National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency website and available in shapefile format. Data are packed with free 7z compressor.

Global Data

VMap0 DCW Shapefiles


All the data are in Latitude/Longitude, WGS84 coordinate system.

Data is available for the territory of Russia in ESRI Shapefile format.

VMap0 DCW Shapefiles Russia


Full article and access to new DCW shapefiles of the world

EarthExplorer Interactive Satellite Maps & Geospatial Data

Query and order satellite images, aerial photographs, and cartographic products through the U.S. Geological Survey.

Earth Explorer Maps


The U.S. Geological Survey is dedicated to providing extensive data to the global science community. However, certain data sets require additional procedures to gain access to them. For example, some commercial satellite scenes of U.S. sites are licensed only for U.S. users. Please log in to find what additional data sets may be available.

Full article and access to EarthExplorer

European River Catchments Geodata, Maps, Shapefiles

European river catchments

The purpose of the European river catchments (ERC) is to provide a homogeneous European catchments dataset at scale 1:1 million that can be used together with the digital topographic data of EuroGlobalMap. This is the latest published version. Includes zipped arcagis shapefiles, vector polygons.

European river catchments


Read entire article and access the European river catchment geodata

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Southern Forests for the Future Interactive Maps and Geodata




The forests of the southern United States are a vital natural asset for the region, the country, and the world. Southern Forests for the Future seeks to raise awareness about this important natural resource and the ecosystem services forests provide, such as fresh water, timber and recreation...

Full article and access maps and geodata

Monday, July 19, 2010

Create Free Interactive Maps for Websites, Presentations, Reports, to Share

Maps are one of the world's oldest formats of communication. They help you connect with others, understand the world, describe routes, countries, cultures, experiences and a whole range of topics. Today, maps are everywhere � but in what format? In digital format they often exist as images with a low resolution or as default maps without any option to edit and personalize them. We thought that's not appropriate for the digital, modern world.

StepMap Free Interactive Maps


StepMap enables you to create personal, interactive and individual maps for topics of your choice. You can add various pieces of information such as images, videos, descriptions, audio files and more to any location on the map. Routes can be added, areas marked and icons placed.

Travelers, teachers, tourist agencies, roleplayers, students and journalists - they all use maps in their daily work and life. It could be for describing your latest holiday route, a news story or simply to visualize information that's interesting to you and your friends or colleagues.

Read Full Article and Visit the StepMap Website

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Home-Based Recycling and Salvage Business Manual to be Released

This is not directly related to GIS, maps and geography but I thought it might be of interest. Times are tough and I believe that they are going to get tougher. This may be a way to supplement income or be the catalyst for an entire new direction. During these times, we need to use our common sense and imagination more than ever.

Click here to learn more about this opportunity.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Interactive Maps to Visualize the More Than 10 Million Americans Who Moved from One County to Another

Wonderful resource for determining migration in and out of U.S. counties - includes per capita income. This is a map created by clicking on Denver County, Colorado.



Black lines indicate movment into county and red indicate movement out of county.

The second maps shows number and income of people that moved between Denver county and Marin county.



Interact with the county migration maps

Thursday, July 15, 2010

GIS Master's Certificates Degrees - Online Resources

Online GIS (Geographic Information System) Education Resources - Distance Learning for Bachelors, Masters, Certificates.

Find distance learning opportunities for online GIS degree programs including bachelor's and master's degrees and certificates. If you are new to GIS, click here for a brief introduction. You may also be interesed in this Free GIS Tutorial and Atlas. Both are excellent ways to learn more about Geographic Information Systems before you invest in an online GIS degree or certificate program.

Find Online GIS Certificate and Degree Programs Now

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Fire Weather and Wildfire Potential, Risk and Incident Maps



Online Fire Weather and Wildfire Maps:

U.S. Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center Active Fire Mapping Program

National Interagency Airspace Restricted Airspace Information Maps

The Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group or GeoMAC, is an internet-based mapping application originally designed for fire managers to access online maps of current fire locations and perimeters in the conterminous 48 States and Alaska.

The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center serves as the northwest area geographic focal point to provide logistical support and intelligence relative to anticipated and ongoing wildfire activity for all federal and cooperating state wildland fire suppression agencies.

Geographic Area Coordination Center - The GACG's mission is to provide leadership and support not only for wildland fire emergencies, but to other emergency incidents (i.e. earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc), as necessary.

National Fire Weather Maps - A key component to the new national fire weather page is its interactive map that allows you to examine critical fire weather information at the national level initially, but quickly provide you access to local and regional fire weather data as well.

The Wildland Fire Assessment System was developed by the Fire Behavior unit at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana.

View and Interact with the Fire Weather and Wildfire Risk Maps

Monday, July 5, 2010

Maps of Structurally Deficient Maps in the United States

Download maps of structurally deficient maps on the U.S. National Highway Network.

It's amazing to think with all the wealth generated during the dot boom and the housing boom that enough funds were not devoted to at least maintaining our national infrastructure.

View and download maps of structurally deficient bridges in the United States

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Learn2Map Free GIS Tutorial and Shapefile Atlas - Learn GIS Online

New to GIS?

Are you new to GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and mapping? Would you like to learn what it is all about and learn how to create your own maps? Would you like to begin a new professional career? Our online Learn2Map™ Tutorial and Atlas is designed to give you a quick-start introduction to the basics of GIS. For a brief introduction to GIS, what it is, and how it is used, click here and then return to this page to learn more about how you will benefit from using this tutorial.

In just a few minutes you can begin to learn how to create sophisticated maps. The easy-to-follow step-by-step distance learning online tutorial is based on free resources. There is nothing to purchase. All you need to begin mapping today is the Learn2Map™ Tutorial and Atlas.

Why Learn GIS?

Most of us use maps frequently. We usually use them to figure out how to get from here to there. Without simple street maps this relatively easy task would be much more difficult. We would have to read instructions, line-by-line, and sort of imagine the geography described in the instructions and superimpose that with what we see as we progress to our destination. We have probably all done this. Maps make this task so much easier. But maps are more than a navigational aid. They can show us relationships that we could never see by pouring through pages of data. Maps can provide answers to questions not found elsewhere and make you ask questions you never would have thought to ask. Maps bring raw and often boring data to life.

There are applications for maps and a need for mapmakers in nearly all fields. Some common uses for maps and GIS are to target sales and marketing areas; redraw congressional districts; find the best route between point a and point b; determine the race, ethnicity and income of folks living certain distances from a facility that pollutes the air; locate clusters of families with certain diseases. Others include environmental planning, traffic analysis and much more.



Access the free Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Shapefile Atlas now.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Free U.S. National Park Maps in HIgh Resolution Formats

Travellers, campers, hikers, backpackers - U.S. National Park maps organized by state.

View and Download National Park Maps

Free TOPO Maps for Campers, Travellers, Backpackers and Hikers

Beautiful high resolution scans of original U.S. topographic maps. HINT: These can be loaded into the free GeoView 4.0. These are very large highly detailed high resolution images. It is best to right-click on the topo image link and download to your computer. Index map included.

View and Download Free 250K Topographic Maps

Niche Web Tip - Don't Lose Pages - Redirect

I'm constantly amazed at the number of web pages that go bad. Government, non-profit and commercial websites that seemingly have large budgets often have pages that go missing. It is very frustrating to click on an interesting link and end up at a page that says "404 not found." There is no good reason for this.

At MapCruzin I've tried to make sure that there are no lost pages. The reason I do this is that links exist forever. Who knows how many folks have bookmarked pages or linked to them from websites. Over the 14 years that MapCruzin has been online, I'm sure that there are many thousands.

The first fix, but not the best, is to redirect your "404 not found" to a real web page that will help visitors find what they are looking for. I do this at MapCruzin.com with this 404page.html. Instead of a page that goes nowhere, folks can search the website and hopefully find what they are looking for.

Better yet is to always redirect pages so that visitors never see your 404 page unless, of course, they type a url incorrectly or the link is configured wrong. If you have moved a page, redirect the old to the new. If you have deleted a page, redirect it to a related page.

Here's how I do these two redirects:

To redirect any "404 not found" to a real web page of your own design, first make a page and name it "404page.html." or anything you like. Then create a file named ".htaccess" in the root directory of your website if it does not already exist. The contents of the "htaccess" file should be "ErrorDocument 404 http://www.mapcruzin.com/404page.html." If you already have an ".htaccess" file, add the content to the existing file.

To redirect any webpage, replace the content of the old page with the following:

<HTML>
<HEAD><TITLE>Redirect</TITLE>

<META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="0;URL=http://www.mapcruzin.com/">
</HEAD>

</body>
</html>

The "0" after "CONTENT=" denotes the length of time the server will pause on the page - I set this to zero so there is no pause at all. Place your new page url after "CONTENT="0";URL=".
In this example, the page is redirected to http://www.mapcruzin.com, but you can put any url in there that you like.

This should help lower the aggravation level of your visitors and keep them on your website a bit longer. After all, you've made a great deal of effort to create valuable content so it makes sense to take these relatively simple steps to assure that your visitors find it.

Monday, June 21, 2010

myRTK Toxic Maps and Information for Mobile Devices

Back in the 1990s MapCruzin.com created the interactive maps for EDF's Scorecard project. We were contracted to do this because we created the first U.S. based interactive toxic maps on the internet - the Santa Cruz Toxic Release Inventory. Several years ago EDF quit mapping toxics, but scorecard is still a viable source for health effects related to toxics. Since the EDF project, we have continued to map toxics. We did guite a bit of work for the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and many projects as part of our interest in bringing Right-to-Know and toxic chemical facility release information to communities in easy-to-use formats.

Some of our outreach efforts include:

EPA myRTK Toxic Release Inventory for Mobile Devices myRight-to-know is an EPA Web application designed for mobile devices. This application takes existing EPA information and packages it in a format and with a level of detail that is appropriate for mobile devices and mobile users. For any location or address, myRTK maps nearby facilities that report to TRI, as well as large permit holders in the Air, Water or Hazardous Waste programs that are expected to produce, manage or release TRI-reportable chemicals. The application compares individual facility releases to releases by other facilities in the county, as well as to other facilities in the same industrial sector. myRTK also identifies the most serious facility non-compliance across the twelve most recent quarters of data for the three principal U.S. environmental statutes: the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Read entire article at MapCruzin.com

Screenshots from myRTK Toxic Maps and Information for Mobile Devices

Recently EPA released their myRTK application for mobile devices. Here are some screentshots along with brief descriptions. Learn more about myRTK.



myRTK Introductory screen.




My search of "City of Industry, CA" returned this google map.




A click on the list button produced a list of the 29 facilities on the map.

 



Going back to the original map and zooming out resulted in many more facilities.




Now many more facilities are listed. The list always reflects the facilities show on map.




One way to view information about a facility is to click on the arrow to the right of its name. Doing so results in this screen.


View all myRTK screenshots and descriptions

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Free Download: Oil and Gas Field ArcGIS Shapefile Map Layers

Shapefile for the Coalbed Methane Panels

Shapefiles for field boundaries (2007), resources (2006), reserves and production (2006), and the top 100 methane emitting coal mines (2005)

Shapefile for the Shale Gas Plays

Shapefiles for basin boundaries

Shapefiles for play boundaries

Shapefile for the Regional Oil and Gas Field

Shapefile for the Powder River, Greater Green River, Uinta-Piceance, and Paradox-San Juan Basins plus Shapefile for the Montana Thrust Belt

Shapefile for the Appalachian Basin

Shapefiles for the Black Warrior Basin, Denver Basin, Wyoming Thrust Belt, National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska plus the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 1002 Area, and the South Florida Peninsula

Shapefiles for the Eastern Great Basin, Eastern Oregon and Washington, Alaskan North Slope, Alaska's Cook Inlet, Ventura Basin, and Williston Basin

MapCruzin.com is an independent firm specializing in the publication of educational and research resources. We created the first U.S. based interactive toxic chemical facility maps on the internet in 1996 and we have been online ever since. Learn more about us and view some of our projects and services.

Download Oil and Gas Field GIS Shapefile Map Layers

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Climate Change Global Warming Shapefiles - Changes in Temperature and Precipitation from 2010 through 2099

IPCC 4th Assessment scenario A2 temperature and precipitation GIS shapefile map layers for the years 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040, 2050, 2060, 2070, 2080, 2090 and 2099. The data points are spaced approximately 4.5 km (2.8 miles) apart. The data covers the lower 48 United States. Each point includes data for each of the 12 months of the year, making comparisons and calculations of increases or decreases between months and decades possible.

About the A2 Scenario

The A2 storyline and scenario family describes a very differentiated and heterogeneous world. The underlying theme is self-reliance and preservation of local identities. Emphasis on economic, social, and cultural interactions between regions is less than in other storylines. Fertility patterns across regions converge very slowly, which results in high population growth. Economic development is uneven, the income gap between now-industrialized and developing parts of the world does not narrow, and per capita economic growth and technological change are more fragmented and slower than in other storylines. Main characteristics A2 scenario include: high population growth, medium GDP growth, high energy use, medium-high land use changes, low resource (mainly oil and gas) availability, slow pace and direction of technological change favoring regional economic development.

In addition to each GIS shapefile map layer, you get base map layers including cities, roads, rivers, states and water bodies.

Download Climate Change Temperature and Precipitation GIS Shapefiles

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Climate Change Impacts in the United States Charts, Maps and Graphs

The disasterous BP gulf oil spill helps bring the effects of our carbon based energy generation into focus. Our carbon-based energy consumption not only has immediate effects like oil spills, surface and air pollution, but also long-term effects like global warming and climate change.

At MapCruzin.com we are working on sets of climate change and global warming GIS shapefiles. The data points are spaced approximately 4.5 km (2.8 miles) apart and are based on the IPCC 4th Assessment A2 Scenario. In the future we will be creating more shapefiles based on other IPCC scenarios.

The IPCC A2 scenario based GIS shapefiles will be available this week at MapCruzin.com. In the meantime, check out the following related charts:

Climate Change Impacts in the United States Maps, Charts, Tables, Chapter 4: Energy Supply and Use

High Resolution images from the 2009 Climate Change Impacts in the United States, Chapter 4, Energy Supply and Use.

Note that these JPG images may be larger than they appear in your browser. While viewing the images, you may save them to your computer to view them in their full high resolution format.

Image 1 - EPA Chart showing that 87% of greenhouse gas emissions is the result of energy production and use.

Image 2 - Pie Chart showing coal, nuclear and natural gas accounting for 90% of U.S. energy production.

Image 3 - Graph showing how U.S. energy use is dominated by oil and other fossil fuels.

Image 4 - Bar chart showing cooling and heating degree days based on various scenarios.

Image 5 - Map of U.S. showing population change and increasing population in regions that require air conditioning.

Image 6 - Bar chart showing number of incidents caused by extreme weather has increased tenfold since 1992.

Download Climate Change Impacts in the United States Charts, Maps and Graphs

Climate Change Impacts in the United States High Resolution Images

The disasterous BP gulf oil spill helps bring the effects of our carbon based energy generation into focus. Our carbon-based energy consumption not only has immediate effects like oil spills, surface and air pollution, but also long-term effects like global warming and climate change.

At MapCruzin.com we are working on sets of climate change and global warming GIS shapefiles. The data points are spaced approximately 4.5 km (2.8 miles) apart and are based on the IPCC 4th Assessment A2 Scenario. In the future we will be creating more shapefiles based on other IPCC scenarios.

The IPCC A2 scenario based GIS shapefiles will be available this week at MapCruzin.com. In the meantime, check out the following related charts:

Climate Change Impacts in the United States Maps, Charts, Tables, Chapter 1: Global Climate Change

High Resolution images from the 2009 Climate Change Impacts in the United States, Chapter 1, Global Climate Change.

Note that these JPG images may be larger than they appear in your browser. While viewing the images, you may save them to your computer to view them in their full high resolution format.

Image 1 - Chart of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration over last 800,000 years.

Image 2 - Chart of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration over last 2,000 years.

Image 3 - Chart of natural and man-made cooling and warming effects.

Image 4 - Chart of global average temperature 1880 to 2008.

Image 5 - Chart of glacial ice decline 1960 to 2008.

Image 6 - Chart showing climate change with and without human impacts.

Image 7 - Chart of solar radiation vs. global surface temperature 1978 to 2006.

Image 8 - Charts comparing global warming due to various factors.

Image 9 - Charts showing emissions of CO2 and concentration of CO2 in atmosphere.

Image 10 - Charts showing projected changes in heaviest precipitation events 1900 to 2099.

Image 11 - Charts showing projected changes in global temperature under three IPCC scenarios 1900 to 2099.

Download Climate Change Impacts in the United States Charts

Saturday, May 29, 2010

CIA Maps of the World Countries and Regions in High Resolution Formats

Free High Resolution Maps of World Regions

Exceptionally nice collection of high quality map images from the CIA World Factbook 2008. Below are some low resolution sample images. Click on the links below to access the high resolution maps in jpg and pdf format.

Here's a low resolution sample of the Middle-East map with a zoomed in portion below it that was captured from the PDF format map.



Download CIA Maps of the World Countries and Regions

ToxicRisk.com Toxic Chemicals and School Children

Introduction

Our Google Maps mashup project is based upon EPA Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data released March 19,2009 and schools in the U.S. Links are provided to RTK Net for detailed chemical pollution release data and Scorecard for chemical information.

Toxic Chemical Pollution Releases and Schools



As you zoom in you will see a change in the icons of the facilities near the center of the map - these are the ones that you can click on and find the facility name, number of schools within 1 mile and number of schools within 5 miles of the facility plus a link to a database about the toxic history of the facility. You can also click on a chemical to learn more about associated risks. The schools will appear as you zoom in. As you zoom in further, you will see the school icon change - at that point you can click on the school to view its name.

Using the Maps

Zoom in or enter some search criteria to begin your discovery of toxic chemical risks near your schools and in your community. Note that a search brings you to a fairly zoomed in map. You may wish to zoom out a bit to see what toxics might be in the surrounding region.

For 2007, 21,996 facilities, including federal facilities, reported to the TRI Program. They reported 4.1 billion pounds of on-site and off-site disposal or other releases of the almost 650 toxic chemicals. Click here for more about EPA's Toxic Release Inventory.

Very Short History of the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)

The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial disaster that took place at a Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal, India. On 3 December 1984, the plant released 42 tons of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to toxic gases. The first official immediate death toll was 2,259. A more probable figure is that 8,000 died within two weeks, and it is estimated that an additional 8,000 have since died from gas-related diseases.

The short story is that the U.S. responded to this disaster by introducing the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) in 1987. While the TRI does not cover all of the toxic risks we face in our neighborhoods, it is a good place to start to build a community toxic inventory. See below for the other data that will soon be added to the maps allowing you to build a more comprehensive community toxic inventory.

Shapefile Downloads

To enable you to create your own community toxics inventory, we have prepared Toxic Release Inventory GIS shapefiles for you to download. These come packaged with base layers like state boundaries, waterways, roads, etc. You don't have to be a GIS professional to use these. They also come packaged with instructions for using these with our free Lear2Map GIS Tutorial and Atlas.

TRI with Google Earth

We have also prepared Google Earth maps based on the TRI data.

Missing Data

Unfortunately, after all these years and with the availability of GPS technology, there are still hundreds of facilities that report no latitude or longitude. We have prepared Excel spreadsheets for you to download so that you can see the facilities that are not on the maps at present. If you have information about the location of facilities that are missing or mis-located, please email me. With your help, we'll make the data more accurate for everyone.

Community Toxic Risk Maps

Currently we have two projects at ToxicRisk.com. The first is map-based using the latest Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data released March 19, 2009. The second is a searchable database of EPA Risk Management Plans (RMP) submitted to EPA in 1999. In the near future we will be adding this data to the maps as well as the more recent 2004 RMP submissions. For more about the Risk Management Plan, visit EPA's Risk Management Plan website.

More Coming in our Community Toxic Risk Mapping Series

In the near future we'll be adding the following to our database and maps. Be sure to also check out our Google Earth Maps of the recenlty released Toxic Release Inventory data. Note that all of our data is obtained from publicly available websites provided by RTK Net and the U.S. EPA:

Risk Management Plans (RMP)

The RMP includes an accident history, chemicals stored on-site, emergency response plans and much more. This data is much more useful but is not nearly as available to the public as the TRI. In fact, the most important portion - the worst case scenarios in case of an accidental release - were never distributed widely. Check our resources for more about this. We have provided a data search of the RMP that is based on the 1999 submissions - the first round of reports. In the near future we will be adding this data plus the latest (2004) submission to the toxic risk maps.

Water Pollution (PCS)

The EPA PCS is a national computerized management information system that automates entry, updating, and retrieval of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) data and tracks permit issuance, permit limits and monitoring data, and other data pertaining to facilities regulated under NPDES. The NPDES permit program regulates direct discharges from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities that discharge into the navigable waters of the United States. Wastewater treatment facilities (also called "point sources") are issued NPDES permits regulating their discharge. Reports for those facilities identified by EPA as "Major" include the names and amounts of chemicals and other substances that are discharged.

Superfund Sites NPL

Information on Superfund sites was obtained from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System (CERCLIS), which is the official repository for site and non-site specific Superfund data in support of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund). Sites are placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) by EPA if they have uncontrolled releases of hazardous substances that are priorities for long-term remediation and response.

Superfund Sites "No Further Action"

There are approximately 24,000 sites that have been included in CERCLIS in the past, but for which EPA requires no further action under the Federal Superfund program.

Superfund Sites NOT on NPL

These are Superfund sites where there is ongoing Federal interest or potential Federal activity, but where the hazard posed is not sufficiently significant or time-critical for the site to be placed on the NPL.

Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)

The TRI System (TRIS) contains data submitted to EPA by regulated facilities concerning chemicals and chemical categories listed by the Agency under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Data contained in the system include chemicals present, amount of on-site use, releases and off-site transfers (including Publicly-Owned Treatment Works, POTWs), on-site treatment, and minimization/prevention actions. TRIS contains information about releases and transfers of more than 600 toxic chemicals and compounds to the environment. We have included data for TRI facilities that reported their 1997 releases and transfers. Further data and information about the facility and chemicals released and transferred are provided through links to RTK Net.

Hazardous Waste Facilities

Information contained in the Hazardous Waste information is taken from the EPA Biennial Reporting System (BRS). It contains information on facilities that treat, store, or dispose (TSD) of RCRA hazardous wastes or are classified as Large Quantity Generators (LQGs) under RCRA. A RCRA hazardous waste is a waste that is both (a) described by one or more federal RCRA waste codes, and (b) is not exempted from RCRA regulations. RCRA classifies as LQG a facility that either (a) generated 1,000 kg or more of RCRA hazardous waste in a single month; (b) generated in a single month or accumulated at any time 1 kg of RCRA acute hazardous waste; or (c) generated or accumulated at any time more than 100 kg of spill clean up material contaminated with a RCRA acute hazardous waste. Reports for those facilities identified by EPA as "Waste Managers" list amount and type of disposal.

AIRS Facilities

EPA's Office of Air and Radiation stores information on air quality, point source emissions, and area/mobile source data required by federal regulation from the 50 states in its Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS). States are required by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to report to EPA annual emissions estimates for point sources emitting greater than or equal to 100 tons per year of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter less than 10 microns in size (PM-10); 1000 tons per year of carbon monoxide (CO); or 5 tons per year of lead (Pb). The Clean Air Act Amendments also require states to report emissions data for point sources in areas where air pollution exceeds Federal standards (nonattainment areas).

Please note that this website does NOT provide the Offsite Consequence Analysis section of the Risk Management Plans as provided by law. Please see our resources for more about this important issue.

Update: September 16, 2009 A.M. - Zeros Count

Using the raw EPA data, many facility reports show zero releases. RTK Net has a different (and we think, better) approach to this. We will be switching to the RTK Net TRI data. Click here for more about this.

Update: June 28, 2009 P.M. - Chemicals linked to Scorecard.org

Each chemical a facility released is now linked to the Scorecard.org website. At Scorecard.org you will be able to find out much more about the chemical released near your schools and in your neighborhoods. Details include such things as: human health hazards, hazard rankings, chemical use profile, ranking of chemicals by reported environmental releases in the United States, regulatory coverage, basic testing to identify chemical hazards, and information still needed for safety assessment.

Update: April 20, 2009 P.M. - Schools Added to Maps

We have added schools to the maps. The maps are now a bit faster and easier to navigate. As you zoom in you will see a change in the icons of the facilities near the center of the map - these are the ones that you can click on and find the facility name, number of schools within 1 mile and number of schools within 5 miles of the facility plus a link to a database about the toxic history of the facility. The schools will appear as you zoom in. As you zoom in further, you will see the school icon change - at that point you can click on the school to view its name.

Note that ToxicRisk.com is based on 2007 TRI data. The 2008 TRI data is now available and, as we find the resources to do so, we hope to update with the new data soon.

Go to ToxicRisk.com Now

Learn More About and Access the 2008 TRI Data Released December 2009

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

World Oil Reserves, Production and Exploration Free Map Downloads

Here are some free oil reserve, production and exploration maps.

World - Crude Oil Seaborne Trade 1994 (IMO) [PDF]

World - Oil Reserves (Energy Bulletin)

World - Oil Reserves (The Independent)

Africa - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Arabian Peninsula Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Arctic - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields (USGS)

Asia - East - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Asia - South - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Asia - Southeast - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Australia and New Zealand - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Australia - Oil and Gas Pipelines (Pipeliner.com)

Australia, Western - Energy Map (Office of Energy) [PDF]

Barents Sea Region - Oil and Gas Development and Seabird Colonies (UNEP/GRID)

Canada - Alberta Oil Sands (Alberta Geological Society)

Canada - Alberta Oil Sands Lease Map (Canadian Oil Sands Trust)

Canada - British Columbia Petroleum Finder Map

Canada - British Columbia Offshore Petroleum Maps (B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines)

Caspian Region Oil Pipelines, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, April 2002 (PCL Map Collection) (633K) [PDF]

[Caspian Region] Oil and Gas Infrastructure in the Caspian Sea Region, CIA, March 2001 (PCL Map Collection) (2.5 MB)

China - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Europe - Crude Oil Pipelines (INOGATE)

Europe - Existing and Planned Natural Gas Pipelines to Europe (PCL Map Collection) from U.S. Energy Information Administration, Country Analysis Briefs, Major Russian Oil and Natural Gas Pipeline Projects, March 2005 (183K)

Europe - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields (USGS)

Europe - Natural Gas Pipelines (INOGATE)

Greece-Italy Gas Pipeline (Edison)

India - BG India Operations Map (BG India)

India - Energy Map from "India: An Energy Sector Overview", 1997, U.S. Energy Information Administration (PCL Map Collection) (55K)

India - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Iran - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields (USGS)

Iran - Key Petroleum Sector Facilities, portion of Iran Country Profile 2004, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (PCL Map Collection) (318K)

Iran - Major Iranian Oilfields from U.S. Central Intelligence Agency map of Iran, 1978 (PCL Map Collection) (108K)

Iraq - Oil Infrastructure From Iraq: Country Profile [map], CIA (PCL Map Collection), January 2003 (157K) and pdf format (160K)

Iraq - Pipelines (Jerusalem Post)

Kazakhstan - Proposed Pipeline to China, July 2004, Central Intelligence Agency (PCL Map Collection) (898K) [PDF]

Kuwait - Oil Fields (MERIP)

New Zealand and Australia - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

New Zealand - Petroleum Permit Maps (Ministry of Economic Development)

Nigeria - Niger Delta Petroleum System (USGS)

Norway - Norwegian Continental Shelf Energy Map (Aftenbladet)

Romania - Natural Gas Grid (Balkanenergy)

Russia - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields - Clickable Map (USGS)

Russia - Pipelines (BBC News)

[Russia to Europe] Existing and Planned Natural Gas Pipelines to Europe (PCL Map Collection) from U.S. Energy Information Administration, Country Analysis Briefs, Major Russian Oil and Natural Gas Pipeline Projects, March 2005 (183K)

Russia to Europe - Gas Pipelines (Centre for Eastern Studies)

South America - Geology, Oil and Gas Fields (USGS)

Ukraine Gas Pipelines (Eurotrib)

U.S. - Gas Price Map (GasBuddy)

U.S. - Alaska - Prudhoe Bay Map (Chubb Custom Cartography)

U.S. - Appalachian Region Oil and Gas Data Viewer (PTTC)

U.S. - New Mexico - Oil and Gas Wells Map Viewer (Go-Tech)

U.S. - Michigan - Petroleum and Natural Gas Maps (Michigan Public Service Commission)

U.S. - Natural Gas Pipeline Network (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

U.S. - Permian Basin (University of Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology)

U.S. - Texas Offshore Oil and Gas Divisions (Texas Railroad Commission) [PDF]

U.S. - Texas - Oil and Gas Maps (Railroad Commission of Texas)

U.S. - Utah - Geologic Resource Maps (Utah Geolgical Survey)

U.S. - Utah Oil and Gas Well Map Search (State of Utah, Division of Oil, Gas and Mining)

U.S. - Wyoming, Utah, Colorado - Oil Shale and Tar Sands Maps (OSTSEIS

View and download free oil reserves, production and exploration maps of the world

Monday, May 17, 2010

Download Free EPA Geospatial Map Layers in ArcGIS Shapefile, KMZ and KML Formats Released April 20, 2010

Ever wanted to map all of the toxic facilities that EPA regulates? EPA now has their geospatial data online. The data includes the following:

  • Superfund National Priorities List (NPL)
  • RCRAInfo - EPA and State Treatment, Storage, Disposal facilities
  • Toxic Release Inventory System - All reported years including the just released 2008 data
  • Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS) and
    Permit Compliance System (PCS) - National Pollutant
    Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Majors
  • RCRAInfo - Large Quantity Generators (LQG)
  • Air Facility System (AFS) - Major discharges of air pollutants
  • RCRAInfo - Corrective Actions
  • RMP - Risk Management Plan
  • SSTS - Section Seven Tracking System (Pesticides)
  • ACRES - Brownfields Properties
Download EPA Geospatial Data

Friday, May 14, 2010

Download Free United States 80 Meter Green Renewable Wind Energy Maps by State

Maps of available wind energy at 80 meters above ground. The zip files include high resolution JPG images and PDFs of the map and chart plus a state-by-state XLS spreadsheet showing available wind energy, capacity installed and energy produced.





Download 80 Meter Wind Energy Potential Maps