This is a map of the black population in the United States. The country is divided by county and each border is represented. The data values that are plotted are the percentage of blacks of the total population of that county. Therefore, though one county may have a higher population of blacks, a small county could have a higher percentage. Each county is shaded a different color based on the percentage of the total population that is black. The legend on the map shows what intervals of percentages correspond to which shades. We can see from the map that counties in the southeast generally have the highest percentages of black population. This corresponds to what we would expect from United States history. The rest of the country has mostly counties with about 1% black population. However, there are scattered areas where the black percentage is as high as 5-10%.
This map shows the population by percent of the asian population. Each county is shaded based on the percentage of asians compared to the total county population. Shades of green indicate low percentages of asians (0-2%), yellow indicates a medium percentage of asians (2-10%), and orange and read represent a high asian population (over 10%). Most of the country has a low percentage of asians in the population. We see mostly green throughout the country. In the middle of the country, there are scattered counties of yellow counties. Where we see noticeable clusters of asian populations is in the northeast. Even more so, we see clusters on the west coast, especially in California. There is only one county in the country with an asian population of over 25%. It is located in California. Once again, we can trace these patterns back to immigration patterns we have seen throughout American history.
This map shows the population density of "some other race." This means any race other than Caucasian, Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and "mixed race." Once again, percentage is depicted on the map by color shade. In this map, yellow means a low percentage, green means medium percentage, and blue means high percentage. From this map, we see definite patterns. Most of the east side of the country has low population percentages of "other" races. We see most of these races distributed on the west side of the country. We see that most of the high percentage counties are located in the south west. We can conclude that this is most likely caused by immigration to the areas by the hispanic population. We conclude this because these areas are the closest to Mexico.
From these three maps, we can see patterns of the percentages of different races in each county. Since the map easily illustrates patterns, we see where certain ethnic groups are clustered and where they are not found. We can then connect these patterns to history of immigration patterns and see why these groups cluster in these locations. Population density maps are a good tool to measure population because a numerical population is not always good enough. For example, if we measured population by number instead of percentage, we would see that every race is clustered around the same areas. This does not show anything about race. It only shows that these areas have a high population in general. Therefore, it is better in this case to measure the percentage so that small and large county populations are represented equally. In this way, population density can illustrate many demographic patterns.
My overall impression of GIS is that it is a useful and relatively easy tool to use. GIS is user friendly and easy to learn how to use. After only a short time of using GIS, I feel confident in my ability to make basic maps. With GIS, a user can map anything. With the proper data, it is easy to transform information into easy to understand illustrations. GIS allows users to transform data from an excel spreadsheet into a form that Arc GIS can read. This is very useful to users because it allows them to create their own data or to get it from an online source. GIS is a very important tool in the spread of geographic knowledge. One of its major effects is the growth of neogeography. With the correct software, virtually anyone can make maps on their own.
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