Geospatial Dataset Updates

The Map Library is pleased to announce that SOLRIS' land cover data is now available for all of southwestern Ontario, Central Ontario, and Eastern Ontario.

The Southern Ontario Land Resource Information System (SOLRIS) is a landscape-level inventory of natural, rural and urban areas. Inventory categories include, for example, shorelines, tallgrass savanah, coniferous forest, swamp, built-up area, and so on. There are a total of 23 landcover categories plus open water and undifferentiated (largely cropland).

More information available from : http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/SOLRIS.html

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In April, 2008 the Map Library had acquired environmental data from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). Included in this dataset are:


natural cover: beach/bluff, forest, meadow, succession, wetland
vegetation type (polygons): these are community types (e.g., sumac cultural thicket, willow shrub beach, dry-fresh oak-hardwood deciduous forest)
fauna (21,000 points): significant species (e.g., birds, squirrels, frogs: alder flycatcher, bobolink, red squirrel, western chorus frog)
flora (44,000 points): significant species (e.g., woodfern, shagbark hickory)

municipality boundaries

water bodies
water courses
watersheds
TRCA properties
contours 1m

Please visit the Map Library for data access.

Map Library offers Scanned and Digitized Historical Photos of KW

The Map Library is pleased to share its archival and digitization efforts with the UW campus and community at large. After several months of scanning, digitizing and georeferencing air photos from the 1930s and 1940s, a webpage is now available that showcases these photos. Although the project is not complete yet, central rural areas of Kithener and Waterloo are available for the years 1930 and 1945. Everybody is invited to view and download these images. Images are available in jpg, tiff, pdf and kml formats. Kml can be brought into Google Earth for geospatial viewing.

Please visit : http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/project/

New Dataset : City of Cambridge Municipal Data

The University Map Library has recently received municipal data for the City of Cambridge providing topographic, planning and recreation information. Examples of features include:

- Heritage Designations
- Landmarks (Schools, fire stations, churches...)
- Sanitation and Storm Management
- Zoning and Offical Plan
- address points
- DTM

Please visit http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/Cambridge.html
for list of complete features and more information.

New Spring Workshop Schedule

The Map Library has released its spring term workshop schedule. http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/EventSchedule.html

Learn about using Google Earth as a personal map maker.
Find out how to visualize your popular 'list of things to do'.
Learn the basics of GIS techniques and methods - an introduction to GIS.

All workshops require registration.

See you there!

Creating Maps in Google Earth

A guide has been created that demonstrates how you can use Google Earth and Google Maps to create customized maps. Learn how to add your own geospatial features onto these online sites. If you're interested in a hands-on workshop or would like assistance converting your files to Google's KML format, please contact Eva Dodsworth.

Creating Maps in Google

City of Ottawa Vector and Image data

The University Map Library has recently received a collection of municipal datasets and orthoimages from the City of Ottawa. The 2005 orthoimages are full-colour, 20 cm resolution, comprising of 55 MrSID images in total, covering the City of Ottawa and parts of the City of Gatineau. For more information please visit : http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/Image_Ottawa2005.html

The vector datasets are available at two different scale: 1:2,000 and 1:10,000. The larger-scale layers provide coverage of the urbanized area within the City of Ottawa and are dated 2004. The smaller scale layers cover the entire City of Ottawa and are dated 2008. For a complete list of features please visit : http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/ncr_vector.html

Recommended GIS Software

The Map Library routinely updates it's recommended list of GIS software for its users. The most recent addition is the open source product MapWindows GIS.

From the website : http://www.mapwindow.com/

MapWindow GIS 4.0 Open Source Software
The MapWindow application is a free, extensible, geographic information system (GIS) that can be used in many ways:

As an alternative desktop GIS
To distribute data to others
To develop and distribute custom spatial data analyses
MapWinGIS ActiveX Control

At the core of the MapWindow application is the MapWinGIS ActiveX control. Using this control, you can program custom mapping functionality directly into your own software.
Open source component (free distribution)
Complete GIS API for shapefile and grid data
Many built in GIS functions

MapWindow includes standard GIS data visualization features as well as DBF attribute table editing, shapefile editing, and grid importing and conversion.

MapWinGIS ActiveX includes a GIS API for shapefile and grid data with many built in GIS functions.

The Map Library has updated its Recommended Software guide at :
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/digital/gissoftware.html