Module 4 - Georeferencing and Data Quality - Vector Analysis Lab

 This module was far more technical than the preceding 3 and was quite a challenge to complete. This lab exercise was split in two parts, Vector1 and Vector2. I will include details regarding both in this post. 

Vector1:

Vector 1 really laid the ground work for what I was prompted to complete in the following exercise. This was a very interesting bit of practice as I was given many different features like wells, drainage basins, and risk features. Using queries I was able to carefully select a specific group of these features. The key takeaway was the difference between attribute queries and spatial queries. Selecting by attributes is quite straightforward, when running the query you simply choose your input features and select a group (typically equal) to a certain quality or integer that in a certain field. A spatial query, or location query, is more descriptive. Through this query I was able to select features by either distance, containment, intersection, or adjacency. By using these two query methods I then ran a spatial join to bring all of my selections together making the resulting layer's attributes essentially "true" to all queries.

Vector2:

Vector 2 built off of Vector 1 quite well. Queries were used in part to make a series of buffers. These buffers, however, were the main focus. I was given two feature layers to work with. With the roads layer I made both a fixed buffer with a distance of 300 meters around the road vectors. I also made a multi-ring compound buffer, however this was more so for practice and was not relevant to the final map created. With the water layer I made a variable buffer, being that the buffer distance was different for the two feature types within the layer. Using an overlay tool called a union, I was able to merge these two buffers together to show an intersection of buffer distances that were within the bounds of both buffers. I then was prompted to effectively minimize any buffers distances that interfered with areas of conservation. I achieved this through the Erase tool in ArcGIS Pro. The map below shows my final results. 

My map above shows the extent of De Soto National forest with road (black) and water (blue) vectors visible. The map depicts suitable camping sites in the area that are within 300m of a road, 150 meters of a lake, and 500 meters of river access that are not within natural conservation areas. The yellow to green scale depicts these areas and the legend differentiates the total size of the areas in hectares. I chose to break the area discrepancies into 3 categories and looked at the distribution in the attribute table to select the range that corresponded best. The range chosen aims to display the discrepancies in area equally as far as a visual perspective. The inset map titles De Soto National Forest was tricky to make as no feature layers were provided for this. In order to avoid major differences in display of this area from a distance I opted not to download any additional data from another source. I duplicated my first map layer for suitable campsite, added a simply and non-distracting base layer, zoomed out the extent and fixed it with map feature layers visible. Next, in layout, I added a graphic point to symbolize location. 

To be quite honest, I am not convinced I performed this lab as expected. I fear my values for area are incorrect based on sample photos provided in the lab. I also believe my design on this final layout was awful compared to my previous work. I struggled greatly with getting my extents to display as desired. I also found it odd that I could not find any data source within the feature layers' metadata to display on my final layout. I plan to schedule a meeting with my professor in the coming days to discuss any errors and find ways to improve.