2. SETTING UP YOUR PROJECT
2a. Setting up in ArcCatalog
2d. Georeferencing a field map
3. Creating data (first steps)
6. Preparing a print-quality map
This next part will guide you through the basic setup process for an Arc project. First, you’ll assign a spatial reference/ coordinate system to the project. Second is loading background data (elevation data, imagery, field maps) into the project, and georeferencing layers that do not have spatial data previously assigned to them.
2a. Setting up in ArcCatalog
Before even using Arc
If you are making a geologic map based off of something that you did in the field (e.g. your field map), which this tutorial assumes you are, you’ll first need to scan your map and save it as a .tif. This is very easily done in Photoshop, make sure that you scan it at a fairly high (~300 dpi) resolution, and don’t compress the image. Save your map somewhere appropriate, like in your \arc directory.
Organizing your data
Open up ArcCatalog from the Start Menu. In the “tree”-menu on the left of the ArcCatalog window, navigate to your \arc folder; open it, and right-click in the big open window on the right (the “Contents Window”) to create a new folder. You’ll store all your data for this project in this folder, so name it something appropriate (e.g. \billys_map), as long as it’s following the Rule of Names. Take a look at the following figure to see where you’ll be doing the parts of this step:
When you are moving files between folders, it’s best to do the entire process through ArcCatalog. Here you can take your scanned field map and move it to your project folder. Remember, we’re going to try and keep everything as organized as possible. If you have been given any other types of data (DEM, imagery, etc.), you can move those to your project folder here as well (unless the data files are very large and on a public server).
Creating a geologic map using ArcMap 10.x 