Choropleth Maps & Classification Schemes

Here are my two choropleth maps: one classified into quintiles, the other equal interval. Unfortuetly, visually there didn't seem to be much of a difference in these two classification schemes, and I presumed there would be. Looking at the raw data, the second lowest class in equal interval has 4 more states in this than quintiles. If the data had been more varied this would make a large difference; sending states into other classes, and changing the overall visual appearance of the map. If I had chosen 3 or 4 classification schemes instead I think that the difference in the two schemes would have been more apparent. In retrospect, I would have choosen a fewer number of classes.

Choropleth Maps

This is a map I found on CNN, showing how much fundraising was done in each state throughout the country in the 2008 Presidential Election and Primaries. I thought it was neat because you can also look at each county in each state and sort by every candidate to see exactly how much was raised. Not only is it a great example of a choropleth map, but also a great interactive map that allows you to store and show a large amount of data. Check out the site where I found this map to see the full extent: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/

Dots!

I completely forgot to post Lab 6 last Thursday, but here it is:

Overall, I am really happy with the way it turned out. I wished that I had had a base map without county lines so that I could have made the county boundaries a lighter gray and the state outline black. Other than that it was just tedious creating and placing all of the dots.

Lab 5: VA, DC, MD

Dot Density Map Examples

Here are 2 dot density maps from one of my classes lectures. They're obviously not PC (note the date of the census) but they are pretty classic examples of dot density maps.

A Cool *Historical* Map of Virginia, Maryland, DC (and Delaware too!)

Here is a cool map I found of MD, VA, DC, and DE. The full title is: Map of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Exhibiting the Post Offices, Post Roads, Canals, Rail Roads, &c. By David H. Burr. (Late Topographer to the Post Office.) Geographer to the House of Representatives of the U.S. John Arrowsmith. Entered ... July 10th, 1839, by David H. Burr ... District of Columbia.



I know the image is small, but if you go here you can see it and it enables you to zoom in and see the great detail and artistic discipline that went into creating this map.

Lab 4 Type