GISCI Map Contest 2014

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The GIS Certification Institute is conducting it’s 3rd annual map contest.  This year’s competition is to produce a high quality map of a portion of the U.S. National Bridge Inventory (NBI). This will require parsing and geocoding  ASCII files in which the NBI is stored, as well as the production of a quality map which could be viewed on the web. First, second, third place and honorable mentions will be awarded.  The winning poster will be taken to the ESRI User Conference and submitted to the ESRI map book, if it was generated with ESRI products.

Who may enter: Anyone is eligible, except those who are going to judge.

Submission Time Frame: March 1 to 31, 2014 – Online portal to accept files along with a required submission form.

Prizes:

  • 1st – $500, 2nd – $250, 3rd – $100, People’s Choice $500 and Honorable Mentions
  • Each winner (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and People’s Choice) will also have their initial certification fee waived if the application is submitted within one year of the date the winners are announced.  Current GISPs will have their renewal fees waived at their next recertification date
  • Map submittal earns / qualifies for 1 point under the Contribution to the Profession category

More information here.

National Map and National Atlas Merge

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From the USGS National Geospatial Program (NGP):

During this year, National Atlas of the United States and The National Map will transition into a combined single source for geospatial and cartographic information. This transformation is projected to streamline access to maps, data and information from the USGS National Geospatial Program (NGP). This action will prioritize our civilian mapping role and consolidate core investments while maintaining top-quality customer service.

The USGS will continue its long history of providing topographic maps, geospatial data and other geographic information by offering a range of scales and layers of geospatial information on The National Map Viewer and through US Topo maps. As a result of the conversion to an integrated single source for geospatial and cartographic information, nationalatlas.gov will be removed from service on September 30, 2014.

“We recognize how important it is for citizens to have access to the cartographic and geographic information of our nation. We are committed to providing that access through nationalmap.gov”, said Mark DeMulder, NGP Director.

“We value the National Atlas customers and stakeholders and want to make this transition as easy as possible,” explained Jay Donnelly, the National Atlas Program Manager.” We will post updates to The National Map and National Atlas Websites as this transition unfolds, including information on the future availability of the products and services currently delivered by nationalatlas.gov.”

Further information is available at: http://nationalatlas.gov/transitionfaq.html.

… Perhaps downloading data now might not be a bad idea if you need it!

Atlas of True Names USA

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The Atlas of True Names reveals the etymological roots, or original meanings, of the familiar terms on today’s maps of the World, Europe, the British Isles, Canada and the United States.

For instance, where you would normally expect to see the Sahara indicated, the Atlas gives you “The Tawny One”, derived from Arab. es-sahra “the fawn coloured, desert”.

Here is a True Names map of the USA.  Click for more info.

ESRI Releases Geotrigger Service

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18 months ago ESRI acquired Portland-based startup Geoloqi and now has put the startup’s technology to use by releasing a new geotrigger service.  The geotrigger service, which was in beta since November, allows developers to more easily serve content to users based on their location, for example, if a user enters an area, send a notification email.

Of course this new service is not free, however you can try it out for with an introductory developer account.  Find out more here.  The service does use “a fraction of an ArcGIS Online credit” which is 1 credit/12 geotrigger events.

Ristow Prize Competition

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If you are a full or part-time undergraduate, graduate, and first year post-doctoral student attending accredited colleges and universities anywhere in the world AND working on a research paper in the history of cartography, then you might want to enter your work in the Ristow Prize Competition.  The winner will receive a $1000 cash prize and publication in the The Portolan, Journal of the Washington Map Society.  The deadline is June 1, 2014.