GIS & Mapping

Setting up a postgres and PostGIS server is not always easy, especially on an headless server, but I found the following instructions helpful, even though the instructions were designed to install Mapnik. I just followed the Ubuntu instructions, and it worked flawlessly.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Mapnik/PostGIS

The PostGIS 2.0  shp2pgsql Command Line Cheatsheet was also helpful with importing shapefiles.

http://www.bostongis.com/pgsql2shp_shp2pgsql_quickguide_20.bqg

 

 

Having been a fan of maps my entire life, I have a special fondness for old paper maps and atlases with hand drawn features, legends and the occasional sea monster.  Paradoxically, despite the resurgence of mapping, and the introduction of Google maps, OSM and other GIS tools,   much of the artistry found in older maps tends to forsaken for accuracy and ease of use. Not necessarily a wrong choice, but cartography always had a artistic bend, and its loss is not always recognized until you stumble upon an accurate map with amazing detail, color choices and unique ways to present information to the reader.

For an artfully and accurately rendered map of the US (on paper, no less!), created by one man, David Imus of Imus Geographics .  Check out this glowing writeup on Slate and visit his site.  He offers a downloadable .pdf of the map to view, but consider purchasing a copy, which run between $12.95 for a foldede map to $39.95 for a laminated copy.

 

For users of GeoServer, a writeup of the new Animator feature, which creates a creates the animated GIF by using multiple WMS calls is wotth a read at geosolutions blog.

A useful feature especially since wetlands policy relies heavily upon geospatial data for decision making and visualizing wetland losses over time. The cliche "A picture is worth a thousand words" holds true, but a well designed animated feature can concisely make a point across even to the casual observer.  Decades of change can be displayed in an intuitive and eye catching format, rather than requiring the viewer to interpret and match multiple still images. 

For more information:

http://geoserver.org/display/GEOS/GSIP+62+-+WMS+animator

Wetlands in the News

30 January 2025