A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing spatially-referenced data. Spatially-referenced data are any types of information that can be mapped or "geocoded" (such as addresses, political boundaries, transportation networks, rivers, satellite imagery, utility systems, field observations, or anything with a specific location component). Applications of GIS are growing rapidly in many areas such as marketing, environmental assessment and management, public utilities, cartography, forestry, emergency management, real estate, public health, global change, historic preservation, resource management, crime analysis, military, facilities planning, agriculture, transportation, wildlife management, economic development, retail site selection, and urban & regional planning.
Overview of GISOnline GIS Applications
- What is GIS? (from ESRI) http://www.gis.com/whatisgis/index.html -- may require Microsoft Internet Explorer
- What is a GIS? (from ESRI, PowerPoint slides) http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/GIS/whatisgis.pdf
- General overview of GIS (from USGS) http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/gis_poster/
- American FactFinder (U.S. Census Bureau) -- http://factfinder.census.gov/
- Atlas of U. S. Mortality (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) -- http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/other/atlas/atlas.htm
- ATMs (find and map the nearest ATMs anywhere in the world) -- http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/global/jsp/SearchPage.jsp
- BirdSource (map bird species) -- http://www.birdsource.org/
- Congressional Apportionment, 1940-2000 -- a geographic overview -- http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/apportionment/index.htm
- David Rumsey Historical Map Collection -- http://www.davidrumsey.com/
- EnviroMapper for Envirofacts (environmental data and maps from U.S. EPA) -- http://www.epa.gov/emefdata/em4ef.home
- Geography Awareness Week GIS Lessons (from ESRI) -- http://www.esri.com/industries/k-12/education/gaw.html
- Geography Network (ESRI's portal to a global community of online data providers) -- http://www.geographynetwork.com/
- Godiva Chocolate (U.S. store locator) -- http://godiva.geoserve.com/forms/godiva.htm
- Google Maps -- http://maps.google.com/
- HomeTownLocator (data, maps, and aerial photos) http://www.hometownlocator.com/
- InfoRain -- Bioregional Information System for the North American Rainforest Coast http://www.inforain.org/
- Live Search (online street maps and driving directions from Microsoft Virtual Earth) http://local.live.com/
- MapQuest (online street maps and driving directions) http://www.mapquest.com/
- Maps (from National Geographic -- http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/maps
- MapsOnUs (online street maps) http://mapsonus.com/
- National Atlas (U.S.) Online, Interactive Map Browser http://nationalatlas.gov/mapmaker
- National Wetlands Inventory Center -- wetlands interactive mapper http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/Mapper.html
- North Dakota Groundwater Pesticide Assessment -- identify areas suspectible to groundwater contamination http://www.ageng.ndsu.nodak.edu/pest
- NSU Students from Oklahoma, 2000-2001 -- a cartographic analysis http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/NSUstudents/
- Realtor.com (find a home on the web) http://www.realtor.com/
- Rocky Mountain Mapping Center: Wildfire Support Team -- wildland fire support; active fireline and fire perimeter maps http://wildfire.usgs.gov/
- Social Explorer (demographic information about the U.S.) -- http://socialexplorer.com/
- Surf Your Watershed (make maps of various features within a waterhshed--from EPA) http://www.epa.gov/surf/
- Vegetation Growth in the U.S. --animated map (requires Shockwave) http://www.nationalatlas.gov/dynamic/dyn_green.html
- Web Atlas of Oklahoma (an extensive collection of interactive thematic maps) http://www.okatlas.org/
- Zebra Mussel Distribution--animated map (requires Shockwave) http://www.nationalatlas.gov/dynamic/dyn_zm.html
Free GIS SoftwareGIS Resources
- ArcExplorer (lightweight GIS data explorer from ESRI) http://www.esri.com/software/arcexplorer/index.html
- ArcReader (free, easy-to-use mapping application that allows users to view, explore, and print maps and globes from ESRI) http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/index.html
- BASINS (Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources)-- for watershed analysis (from EPA) http://www.epa.gov/ostwater/basins/
- Google Earth (combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips) http://earth.google.com/
- GRASS -- a raster-based GIS, vector GIS, image processing system, and spatial modeling system http://grass.ibiblio.org/
- NASA World Wind (lets you zoom from satellite altitude into any place on Earth) http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/index.html
GIS at Northeastern State University & GIS Careers
- Center for Spatial Anaysis (applied research unit of the Sarkeys Energy Center at OU) http://www.csa.ou.edu/
- Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (U. of Arkansas) http://www.cast.uark.edu/
- Community Atlas project (teachers and students define the nature of "their community" and post descriptions and maps about it) http://edcommunity.esri.com/commAtlas/
- Earthshots: satellite (LANDSAT) images of environmental change from USGS -- great teaching tool http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/earthshots/slow/tableofcontents
- ESRI (world's leading GIS software vendor) http://www.esri.com/
- Geography at about.com (great source for anything related to geography) http://geography.about.com/
- Geography Network -- online resource for geographic content and data http://www.geographynetwork.com/
- GIS Lounge (extensive links to many types of GIS sources and applications) http://gislounge.com/
- GIS.com--"your Internet guide to geographic information systems" http://www.gis.com/
- GIS Data Depot (free GIS data) http://data.geocomm.com/
- Global GIS (a GIS of the world at a nominal scale of 1:1 million from USGS and ESRI) http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/globalgis/
- GPS - Global Positioning System (simple overview) - GPS module from the Southern California Integrated GPS Network http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/gps.htm
- GPS - Global Positioning System (more detailed overview) - Global Positioning System Overvew from The Geographer's Craft at the University of Texas, Austin http://www.colorado.Edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html
- GPS Device (Popular Car Accessories) -- history, explanation, and applications of GPS -- http://www.lelandwest.com/car-accessories-the-gps-device.cfm
- Learning Web (a portion of the USGS web dedicated to K-12 education) http://www.usgs.gov/education/
- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, GIS Data Deli http://deli.dnr.state.mn.us/
- National Database of GIS Data http://www.cast.uark.edu/local/catalog/national/
- Oklahoma Center for Geospatial Information http://www.ocgi.okstate.edu/
- Oklahoma State GIS Council http://okmaps.onenet.net/
- TIGER (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing system from Census Bureau) -- http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/
- Trails and Topographic Maps from Trails.com -- http://www.trails.com/
- University of Arkansas Libraries: GIS & Maps (links to online data and info.) http://libinfo.uark.edu/gis/
- USGS Lessons for GIS -- http://education.usgs.gov/common/lessons/GIS/gis.html
- GIS is taught in the Geography Program at NSU -- http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~socsci/GEOG/
- There are currently two GIS courses at NSU: GEOG 3813, Geographic Information Systems and GEOG 4833, GIS Applications
- GIWIS: Geospatial Industry Workforce Information System -- http://www.giwis.org/
- Careers in Geography -- links to various careeer sources http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/careers-in-geography.html
- Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education (OKAGE) http://www.ngsednet.org/okage
Created by Chuck Ziehr; revised May 11, 2011. This page: http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/GIS/GISday-Links-May2011.html