Map of Mexico

As we go more in depth into ArcGIS, the step by step process in cartographic output starts to become more and more informative with many features. To be able to add more features more layers are needed to be added to the table of content of ArcGIS; so Arc Catalog is a geobased administration used to organize and manage the various datasets and documents into ArcGIS.

The first map illustrates the boundaries of the Mexican states. To be able to focus only on the Mexican states a SQL query was created by using “select by attribute” option and then exported to the table of content. As you can see in the map all the individual states are labeled with their specific name. Furthermore, the map also depicts the population of the states with the use of a color ramp of six classes which is also shown in the legend. The legend was integrated with the “legend wizard” option. The north arrow, scale bar and scale text is also shown in the map; the map title was added by a dynamic text. The dynamic text feature also inserts summary, description, author, credits and date of the map.

In this second map different features of Mexico was shown; these features are the rails, rivers, roads and urban areas. In order for ArcGIS to clearly display these features they must be rearranged in the table of content and the mex_states needs to be turned off. Additionally these layers include too many features which makes the map look clustered and hard to understand. With the “Symbology Property” options the features were made specific to Federal Roads, Major and Primary Rivers, and Single Track Rails which is also shown in the legend. The advance labeling option allows you to create a SQL query to depict states with a population of more than a million people. The Mexican States with a population of more than a million are Guadalajara, Leon De Los Aldama, Puebla and Mexico City. Lastly an insert map was added to show where the map is located in a broader geographic context.

This last map shows the different elevations of Mexico’s central region. This map is a continuation of the first and second map (this is easily done by turning on and off the different layer) so the title, author, date, legend and scale is already on the map. In order to get the elevations the layer of mex_elv needs to be added and the world_countries layer needs to be removed. Then a stretched symbology and a color ramp is applied so that the elevations are visible.