GIS LINKS & RESOURCES
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Illinois Links & Resources
National GIS Links & Resources
Free GIS Tools
Adams County GIS
The City of Chicago GIS
The GIS2GPS Team -- Mission Illinois Project
Government Management Information Sciences (GMIS)
Historic Architectural and Archaeology Resources Geographic Information System (HAARGIS)
Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association
Illinois Association of Municipal Management Assistants (IAMMA)
Illinois City/County Management Association (ICCMA)
Illinois Geographic Information Council
Illinois Geographical Society
Illinois GIS Central
Illinois Historical Aerial Photographs
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
Illinois Lake Management Association
Illinois Natural Resources Conservation Service (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)
Illinois Natural Resources Geospatial Data Clearinghouse
Illinois Public Land Surveyors Association
Lake County's Interactive GIS Application
McLean County Geographic Information System
Northeast Illinois County GIS Cooperative Program
Peoria County
Peoria GIS
UIUC Geographic Modeling Systems Lab
U.S. Geological Survey (Water Resources in Illinois)
Woodford County
American Planning Association
American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
Association for Geographic Information (AGI)
Association of American Geographers (AAG)
Department of Homeland Security National Geospatial Preparedness Needs Assessment - 3MB (June 2005)*
Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS)
Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA)
National Atlas (U.S. Geological Survey)
National Geography Society
National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC)
NSGIC Fifty States Initiative (February 2005)*
The National Association of Counties
The National League of Cities
The Open GIS Consortium
The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science
Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)
URISA GIS Corps
US Census Mapping Pages
U.S. Geological Survey
Free GIS Tools
AccuGlobe GIS data viewer
ArcExplorer GIS data viewer
USGS Mapping Science Software - includes software for topologic, geologic and water resource applications
XTools - an ArcView Extension with many tools useful in doing GIS analysis using ArcView, developed by the Oregon Department of Forestry and released to the public domain.
Atlas Geo File Translators - converts Atlas Geo Files to shape files, and vice versa
DLGV32 Pro - software for viewing USGS Digital Line Graph Optional (DLG-O), Digital Raster Graphic (DRG) data, and Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) data
LAS/ADAPS Distribution and Documentation - software for adding delimiters
GRASS: Geographic Resources Analysis Support System - open source image processing and spatial statistics analysis tools, especially useful for hydrologic/watershed modeling
ScanMagis - free general purpose software for viewing, analyzing and processing remote sensing data
ERDAS - software for viewing elevations data (.img, .sid and .tif files)
Autodesk : Autodesk offers a range or programs for students and educators at all levels. Their Education site includes information about Academic Solutions, Student Products, a library of Instructor Resources, and information about real world careers. www.autodesk.com/education
Maps and Data
Columbia University Press.
Columbia Gazetteer of the World
http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/
Google
Google Earth downloads.
http://earth.google.com
Google
Google Earth for Educators
http://www.google.com/educators/p_earth.html
Maps a la carte, Inc
Look at USGS topo maps for free, look up locations, map names any location on Earth
www.topozone.com
Mapchannels.com
Links to display Google Street, Google Maps and Virtual Earth simultaneously
Microsoft
Microsoft Virtual Earth.
http://local.live.com/
NASA
2D and 3D software that accesses Landsat imagery and SRTM elevation data for the planet, allowing you to zoom and pan to any location on Earth,
http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov
National Atlas
The USA National Atlas web mapping service.
www.nationalatlas.gov
National Geographic
Round Earth, Flat Maps, an overview of Map Projections
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/2000/exploration/projections/index.html
National Geographic
A source for imagery/photographs to accompany GIS:
http://www.ngsednet.org/
Teachers' Lounge
Learn how to view historical maps in Google Earth.
http://teacherslounge.typepad.com/teachers_lounge/2006/11/historical_maps.html, &:
Terraserver
Online USGS aerial photographs and topographic maps; these images can be imported as registered data for GIS and GPS-based projects.
www.terraserver-usa.com
NOAA
Go to the geodetic tool kit link at the top of the web page for magnetic declination calculators, other useful software, information on geoids, ellipsoids.
www.ngs.noaa.gov
Free Metadata Tools
Metadata Creation Tool - quick and easy way to creat FGDC minimally compliant metadata
NOAA ArcView Metadata Collector v. 2.0
Corpsmet95 - the US Army Corps of Engineers' metadata creation tool
USGS Tools for Compiling and Editing Formal Metadata
Corpscon - US Army Corps of Engineers geographic coordinate converter, NAD27 - NAD83 - HARN converter, and NGVD29 - NGVD88 converter
FGDC Metadata Tool Review
Glossaries of Terms
Searchable Glossary of GIS Terms
ESRI Glossary of GIS Terms
Association for Geographic Information (AGI)
Free GIS Software
Key Indicator Data System (KIDS)
It has been developed by the World Agriculture Information Centre (WAICENT) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. KIDS is a open-source software framework that provides the ability to implement thematic information systems that collect, reference, visualize, exchange and disseminate statistical, survey and indicator data. Visualization is possible through tables, mapping, raster images and graphs.
Basic GIS overlay and legend editing functions are available for non-GIS users.
MapCruncher
It is a prototype technology from Microsoft Research to make it easy for users to create their own, personalized mash-ups – may. The system revolutionizes the way people use online maps. MapCruncher makes it easy to publish maps overlaid on Virtual Earth. Once you get familiar with the tool, it will take about ten minutes to make a new map.
GeoNetwork OpenSource
It is a web based Geographic Metadata Catalogue System developed by FAO-UN, WFP-UN and UNEP. The system implements the ISO19115 Geographic Metadata and ISO 23950 (Z39.50) standards.It provides an OGC-WMS client application InterMap OpenSource and integrates the Deegree OGC Web Map Server in its full installer version, including sample data.
Map Maker
It is simple to use yet powerful map making and GIS software for Windows. It is available as the free program "Map Maker Gratis" and the more advanced "Map Maker Pro". Map Maker Pro is a low-cost system now in use in over 100 countries. It is used in a wide range of environmental work including forestry and fisheries. It supports, raster, vector, and DTM data and can import and export a wide range of formats including ArcView shape files and MapInfo mif/mid files. Map Maker Pro includes 3D features including perspective views, contouring, cross-sections etc.
DIVA-GIS
It is a free geographic information system (GIS) software. DIVA-GIS was specifically developed for use with biological distribution data such as available from natural history museums and genebanks. With DIVA-GIS you can: (i) map the locations of sites where populations of plant or animal species were observed, and of different characters that may have been recorded for these populations. (ii) make grid maps of the distribution of biological diversity, and identify “hotspots” and areas that have complementary levels of diversity; and (iii) extract climate data for localities points, and predict the presence of species based on climate.
GRASS GIS
Commonly referred to as GRASS, this is a Geographic Information System (GIS) used for geospatial data management and analysis, image processing, graphics/maps production, spatial modeling, and visualization. GRASS is currently used in academic and commercial settings around the world, as well as by many governmental agencies and environmental consulting companies.
SPRING
SPRING is a state-of-the-art GIS and remote sensing image processing system with an object-oriented data model which provides for the integration of raster and vector data representations in a single environment.
AGIS for Windows
It is a simple mapping and GIS shareware package
VTP
Its goal is to foster the creation of tools for easily constructing any part of the real world in interactive, 3D digital form. This goal will require a synergetic convergence of the fields of CAD, GIS, visual simulation, surveying and remote sensing. VTP gathers information and tracks progress in areas such as procedural scene construction, feature extraction, and rendering algorithms. VTP writes and supports a set of software tools, including an interactive runtime environment (VTP Enviro). The tools and their source code are freely shared to help accelerate the adoption and development of the necessary technologies.
GRID-Arendal's Online GIS and Map and Graphics Database
It offers a free collection of maps, graphics and diagrams, illustrating environmental issues. These images are produced using desktop publication software such as Freehand, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw , etc.
MapMachine
It is a is a dynamic atlas used to locate places on Earth, search and print historical, weather, and population maps, and more. Mapmachine is hosted by the National Geographic and powered by ESRI
MapWindow GIS
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.
worldKit
WorldKit is an easy to use and flexible mapping application for the Web. Light weight GIS. It's a SWF based app, configured by XML, data fed by RSS. Stand-alone use or integration in larger projects.
BASINS
BASINS is a multi-purpose environmental analysis system that integrates a geographical information system (GIS), national watershed data, and state-of-the-art environmental assessment and modeling tools into one convenient package.
SharpMap
SharpMap is a simple-to-use map renderer that renders GIS data for use in web and desktop applications. The engine is written in C# and based on the .NET 2.0 framework.
SAMT
A commercial GIS is very expensive while a free GIS (GRASS) is not easy to use. We need a modeling system with a few GIS-features, like spatial analysis, some spatial techniques and a simple in and export function to a GIS. The main focus is to have an open system to include different models.
mezoGIS
mezoGIS is a GIS application, a graphical interface to query and analyse spatial data. mezoGIS does not store or compute data directly, but operates external PostGIS databases. The goal of mezoGIS is to provide a tool for geo-spatial analysis with PostGIS, through on-the-fly SQL queries as well as through larger, external plugin scripts.
MapWindow
The MapWindow GIS open source project includes a Microsoft Windows compatible desktop application capable of viewing shapefile, and raster data in many formats. It can reproject data, clip, merge, and perform other geoprocessing through a "GIS Tools" plug-in. Developer-users can extend the application by writing plug-ins using any .NET Framework compatible language, or developers can write GIS enabled software using the MapWinGIS ActiveX control.
HidroSIG
HidroSIG is a Geographical Information System (GIS) written in Java with special tools that will allow you to make estimations and analysis of hydrological, climatic and geomorphological variables.
HUGO
Hugo is moving map software for UNIX platforms. Hugo can view maps in simple raster (XPM), vector, and TIFF formats. ESRI shape file support is in progress but not yet useful.
gvSIG
gvSIG is a tool for handling geographical information. It has a friendly interface, and can access several (raster and vector) formats. It will integrate in a single view both local and remote data through WMS or WFS (WMS now working). It is meant for end-users of geographical information, and currently has Spanish, Valencian, English, French, and Italian interfaces.
GeoVista Studio
GeoVISTA Studio is an open software development environment designed for geospatial data. Studio is a programming-free environment that allows users to quickly build applications for geocomputation and geographic visualization.
Virtual Terrain Project (VTP)
The goal of VTP is to foster the creation of tools for easily constructing any part of the real world in interactive, 3D digital form. This goal will require a synergetic convergence of the fields of CAD, GIs, visual simulation, surveying and remote sensing. VTP gathers information and tracks progress in areas such as procedural scene construction, feature extraction, and rendering algorithms.
VGMap
VGMap is a new library created by Eyebeam R&D that allows designers, developers, and mapping geeks to overlay data on top of Google Maps in a richer way than is possible using their standard system. It is called VGMap because it adds vector-drawing capability to the already-awesome GMap API.
TOPAZ
TOPAZ (Topographic Parameterization) is an automated digital landscape analysis tool for topographic evaluation, drainage identification, watershed segmentation and subcatchment parameterization. While TOPAZ is designed primarily to assist with topographic evaluation and watershed parameterization in support of hydrologic modeling and analysis, it also has application to a variety of geomorphological, environmental and remote sensing applications.
POPulation MAPper
POPulation MAPper (popmap for friends) is a utility that creates population maps. Popmap will read from a configuration file the different sites and the weight of a certain type of population for each site. Then popmap will retrieve the best map for the set of sites from mapblast and draw dots in the given sites coordinates proportional to the weight of the population.
PloneMap
A mapping application for Plone based on MapServer. It enables you to create interactive maps inside your Plone site. Web visitors can navigate the map and browse or edit geo-positioned data in a collaborative manner. PloneMap adds geographical representation on top of the powerful Plone content management system.
MapLab
MapLab is a suite of effective and intuitive web-based tools to create and manage MapServer web mapping applications and map files. It consists of three components: MapEdit, MapBrowser and GMapFactory.
MapJunction
MapJunction3D is the first web-based mapping system to combine fast display of maps, aerial photos and GIS information.
MapIt!
MapIt! is a web-application that lets you navigate raster-maps through your web-browser and lets you zoom in and out and select objects and object classes that are identified on the map.
InterMap
InterMap is an Internet mapping application that allows the user to combine interactive maps from distributed Internet Map Servers in a browser. InterMap supports OpenGIS WMS and ESRI-ArcIMS and can be fully integrated with the GeoNetwork Metadata portal.
GeoTools
Geo Tools is a free Java based mapping toolkit that allows maps to be viewed interactively on web browsers without the need for dedicated server side support.
LookWMS
LookWMS is a Java Web Map Client with several unique features. LookWMS includes PDT by IDELIX, a virtual lens tool for more effective viewing and interaction with multi-layer data. LookWMS allows you to access and layer information from multiple servers, open GeoTIFFs, and work offline.
LookOUT
LookOUT is a great new add-in for Microsoft~ Outlook~ that enables you to easily map a location or find directions straight from your Outlook Contacts window. With a couple of clicks you can map a location, find directions from one contact to another, and search for products or services in a specific area.
Spatial Console
Spatial Console is the ultimate tool for controlling data in an Oracle Spatial environment. The product enables users to import shapefiles into Oracle Spatial or Locator with control over metadata, database constraints, feature history, versioning and coordinate rounding. Exporting from Oracle to several formats is also supported. The import and export facilities of Spatial Console can be conducted in batch mode via the command line if required.
Designed for everyday data management, Spatial Console also delivers a fully functional visualisation tool providing navigation, layer management, symbology control and feature selection via both spatial and attribute queries. Users will also have the power to validate Oracle Spatial or Locator features as well as the associated metadata and indexes through Spatial Console.
SAGA -- System for an Automated Geo-scientific Analysis -- is a free Geographical Information System ( GIS ).
One can understand SAGA as a geographic information system with a special 'Application Programming Interface' ( API ) for geographic data processing. This API makes it easy to implement new algorithms and exempts the developer from hassle programming overhead like user-interface design or file-io. The SAGA API supports grid data like digital terrain models and satellite images, vector data, and tables.
Since the release of SAGA there is a growing collection of SAGA-Modules, in areas of digital terrain analysis, geo-statistics, image processing and process simulation. SAGA is released under GNU Public License ( GPL )
AccuGlobe 2004
Digital Data Technologies (DDTI) and GeoMicro have made AccuGlobe 2004 available for free download. The product is built on GeoMicro’s AltaMap components. AccuGlobe 2004 contains many GIS features such as feature editing, charts, smart labeling, web updates and creating project files. The primary purpose of AccuGlobe is to provide a mapping platform for organizations or people that have previously been unable to use GIS software because of the expensive license fees.
Free Open Source Software
The opensource GIS software's mentioned here are arranged in alphabetical order and are amongst the few popular categories that have maintained the standards set by OGC. This list is subjective and not exhaustive.
OSSIM Image Processing
deegree
deegree is a free software initiative founded by the GIS and Remote Sensing unit of the Department of Geography, University of Bonn, and lat/lon.
GRASS
Geographic Resources Analysis Support System, commonly known as GRASS, is an open source, free GIS software with many modules for raster and vector data manipulation, rendering images on the monitor or paper, multispectral image geocoding and processing and attribute management.
The various features of GRASS is developed in a UNIX environment and is supported in many other systems using , Windows, MacOS X, Linux.
gvSIG
gvSIG is a tool oriented to manage geographic information. It is characterized by a user-friendly interface, with a quick access to the most usual raster and vector formats. In the same view it includes local as well as remote data through a WMS, WCS or WFS source.
ILWIS
The Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) is a PC-based GIS & Remote Sensing software, developed by ITC up to its last release (version 3.3) in 2005. As per July 1st, 2007, ILWIS software is freely available ('as-is' and free of charge) as open source software (binaries and source code) under the 52°North initiative (GPL license). This software version is called ILWIS 3.4 Open.
ILWIS comprises a complete package of image processing, spatial analysis and digital mapping.
JUMP GIS
The JUMP Unified Mapping Platform (JUMP) is a GUI-based application for viewing and processing spatial data. It includes many functions common to other popular GIS products for the analysis and manipulation of geospatial data. The JUMP also provides a highly extensible framework for the development and execution of custom spatial data processing applications.
MapWindow GIS
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
PostGIS
PostGIS adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational database. In effect, PostGIS "spatially enables" the PostgreSQL server, allowing it to be used as a back end spatial database for geographic information systems (GIS), much like ESRI's SDE or Oracle's Spatial extension. PostGIS follows the OpenGIS "Simple Features Specification for SQL" and has been certified as compliant with the "Types and Functions" profile.PostGIS has been developed by Refractions Research as a project in open source spatial database technology.
Quantum GIS
Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) that runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, and Windows. QGIS supports vector, raster, and database formats. QGIS lets you browse and create map data on your computer. It supports many common spatial data formats (e.g. ESRI Shape File, geotiff). QGIS supports plugins to do things like display tracks from your GPS.
SAGA GIS
SAGA – System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses- is a hybrid GIS software. The first objective of SAGA is to give (geo-)scientists an effective but easy learnable platform for the implementation of geoscientific methods, which is achieved by SAGA's unique Application Programming Interface (API). The second is to make these methods accessible in a user friendly way. This is mainly done by the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Together this results in SAGA's true strength: a fast growing set of geoscientific methods, bundled in exchangeable Module Libraries. The figure shows SAGA's system architecture.
Topology Framework .NET (TF.NET)
TF.NET represents a managed topology manipulation API capable of handling managed objects representation of topological entities based on other popular APIs, exposing it's JTS-based common topology manipulation core to them. Supported external managed APIs include: OSGeo Feature Data Objects (FDO) geometries, OSGeo MapGuide Server (FDO-based) geometries and Autodesk ObjectARX geometries (a.k.a. entities).
Functions provided include: Spatial predicates (based on the DE-9IM model), Overlay functions (intersection, difference, union, symmetric difference), Buffer, Convex hull, Area and distance functions, Topological validity checking, Coordinate systems manipulation (transformations), Topological graphs manipulation, and more.
TF.NET libraries are free, licensed under GNU LGPL and available for download from Google Code page: http://code.google.com/p/tf-net/
uDig
The User-friendly Desktop Internet GIS (uDig) is both a GeoSpatial application and a platform through which developers can create new, derived applications. uDig is a core element in an internet aware Geographic Information System.
Free Scripts
MapX
MapXtreme
User Scripts
Share or download scripts developed by ESRI and users like you. Find scripts by category or use the search tool to find scripts in your area of interests
MapObjects
MapObjects is a powerful collection of embeddable mapping and GIS components. It is an ActiveX Control with more than 45 programmable ActiveX automation objects that can be plugged into many standard development environments.
MapObjects LT
MapObjects LT is a lightweight, royalty-free version of MapObjects. With 24 programmable ActiveX automation objects, MapObjects LT provides a wide variety of tools that developers can use to create easy-to-use GIS and mapping applications.
SML Scripts
If you are just starting off with writing SML scripts, you will find some invaluable examples here to work with. Be sure to look here before your next project--what you need may have already been done for you by someone willing to donate their expertise to the TNT products community.
GeoSpatialFormula Scripts
You can browse GeoFormulas included on the TNT products CD, or you can contribute one to MicroImages for placement in this exchange.
Geologic CartoScripts
CartoScripts give you the ability to design custom map symbols for lines and points in vector and CAD objects.
Disclaimer
This list is a compilation of resources by volunteers and in no way an endorsement
of an individual, company, or products.
Liability
Neither the Illinois GIS Association, nor ILGISA, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors,
make any warranty, express or implied,
nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any
information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed,
nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights.
Links and pointers to sites are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsement by the ILGISA,
of the referenced organizations, their suitability, content, products, or services,
whether they are governmental, educational, or commercial.
Some of the documents on this server may contain live references (or pointers)
to information created and maintained by other organizations.
Please note that the ILGISA does not control and cannot guarantee the relevance, timeliness, or accuracy
of these outside materials.
Non-endorsement of products and services
Hypertext links and other references to products and services
are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsement or warranty by ILGISA,
as to their suitability, content, usefulness, functioning, completeness, or accuracy.
Public domain software
Links are provided to public-domain software developed by or for the USGS.
Although these programs have been used by the USGS,
no warranty is made by the USGS or ILGISA as to the accuracy and functioning
of the programs and related program material.
Distribution of these materials also does not constitute any warranty,
and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS or ILGISA
in connection with any distribution activity.