Thematic Mapping

Hi everyone,

I finally got a chance to work on this lab....

-First I started out by importing the data set into ArcMap... below is a screen shot of the imported data.

-Next I used the select tool and separate the map into three shape files: the contiguous US, Alaska, and Hawaii... below is a screen shot of the method that was used.

 -The next step was to set the spatial reference of the US county shape file to "USA Contiguous Albers Equal Area Conic projection, the Alaska shape file to Alaska Equal Area Projection, and the Hawaii shape file to Hawaii Equal Area projection... below is a screen shot of the method that was used.

-Next I reprojected the three shape files to the correct projection.

-Next I looked at the classification first using Natural breaks (jenks).

-Secondly I looked at the classification using Quantiles.

-Third I looked at the classification using Equal Intervals.

-Lastly I looked at the classification using Standard Deviation.

- After creating all four classifications I believe "natural breaks (jenks)" works the best for the data set that is being analyzed.  Below is the maps I created with the data showing the poverty rates in the United States.