Basic cartography requires a substantial amount of data to build accurate and informative maps, from files for building a map to the data being represented. The following compilation of resources includes GIS data and helpful directions for cartography projects, specifically creating custom basemaps for reference maps and other data-driven projects. This list is by no means all encompassing, but includes free data available for public use.
DATA
Natural Earth | Cultural, Physical, & Raster Data
Natural Earth provides access to cultural, physical, and raster data, including political boundaries, coastline and hydro data, and land cover and relief data. The data is free to download and available at a variety of scales to fit the needs of various projects.
The National Map | Various Data
This tool, provided by the USGS, contains a variety of cultural and physical data from the United States, including political boundaries, topographic information, and hydrology. The web tool allows users to search, select, and download the data.
World Hillshade | Hillshade Data
This layer, provided by ESRI, includes a global hillshade. The data used to create the hillshade was compiled from a number of sources, and covers the globe. Data scale varies depending on the region displayed.
ESRI Open Data Hub | Various Data
This data hub, hosted by ESRI, includes a variety of data suitable for both basemaps and maps showcasing data. Data is stored from a variety of sources, and can be searched with filters.
ESRI Data and Maps | Cultural & Physical Data
This collection of feature layers, published by ESRI, includes a variety of data that can be downloaded and used in ArcGIS. Data includes political boundaries at various scales worldwide, road data, and topographic/other physical data.
OpenTopography | Topographic Data
OpenTopography includes topographic data in a variety of formats from different sources. The available data is mostly for the United States, but there is some data available abroad. Data classes available include point cloud data, DEMS, and imagery from Google Earth.
Centre County Open Data | Local Boundaries, Infrastructure, & Other Data
This open data site includes various GIS data from Centre County, including environmental data, boundary data, location data, and infrastructure data. Local open data websites are often good places to find road data, parcel data, zoning boundaries, and other local political boundaries. Most localities – often counties – have open GIS data sites where you can find similar data.
US Census Cartographic Boundary Files | US Political Boundaries
The US Census Bureau provides boundary files for various US boundaries. This data encompasses a variety of boundaries, including state boundaries, county boundaries, legislative districts, census geographies, zip codes, school districts, and urban areas.
Open Street Map | Various Data
Open Street Map is one of the largest sources of community-driven, crowd-sourced data. While not always entirely cleaned or accurate, Open Street Map provides a plethora of data for regions worldwide. Data available on Open Street Map is free for use for any purpose, and can be helpful for helping to map areas without other available GIS data.
OTHER RESOURCES
ArcGIS Blog | ESRI Resources, including cartography specific
The ArcGIS Blog from ESRI contains a variety of posts regarding ArcGIS specific information. While the blog contains a wide variety of information about ESRI products, some posts are geared specifically towards cartography and design using the ESRI software suite. Blog author John Nelson’s pieces are particularly helpful for beautiful cartography-specific design tips and tricks.
Get Started With ArcGIS Pro | Online Lesson
This basic introduction to using ArcGIS Pro is an approximately 30 minute online tutorial. The tutorial engages the ArcGIS Pro application, for beginner users interested in learning to navigate and use the software.
ArcGIS Pro Quick-Start Tutorials | Online Tutorials
This post contains a variety of short tutorials on ArcGIS Pro, ranging from approximately 10 – 60 minutes in length and covering a variety of topics. The tutorials require ArcGIS Pro and engage users with various parts of the software.
Post written by Milan Liu.