What information is needed for my project?

The required map information is established using standard land planning processes (models). Particular models require particular map data.

One must be very thorough in the initial (inventory) phases of the Geographic Information Systems process. Existing local features are always an integral part of determining an appropriate community development plan. Field visits, photographs, and (land and water) maps are used to identify, and then inventory (in terms of absence or presence) all significant local features. Next, it is important to determine how to “best” represents the collective features (accurately) on an existing, or newly created (base) map.

The data collection process is sometimes called “feature inventory.” The following listing suggests the type of features that could (or should) be identified, inventoried, and classified.

Features should be “of value” to the information-gathering effort. As you study a map (or photographs) of an area, always ask a few practical questions before deciding to use or discard a feature from the exhaustive list of data inventory possibilities.

• • Does (other) more accurate or reliable information currently exist?
  • What agencies or organizations have useful information? (USGS, SCS, USFS, etc.)
  • Which paper or electronic maps have specific features? (USGS topography, etc)
  • Is the particular feature “under consideration” needed in this GIS project?
  • Will the overall quality of the project suffer if I do not to include this feature?
  • What are the units of measure that “quantify” each of the map features?

Some map features are measured directly, others are interpreted indirectly. Specific categories of map feature classifications will always vary depending on the use, and the user. The following are suggested map feature classification categories utilized by the U.S. Geological Survey, et al. (Listed by general land activity category).

The Features list includes examples from both the Built and Natural environment.

Agricultural Map Features

Abandoned farm fields
Abandoned pasture Bailed hay (round and square)
Barns and other buildings
Cultivated crops
Row crops
Broadcast crops
Drill crops
Fence rows
Greenhouses
Hay stockpiles
Hedge rows
Improved pastures
Irrigated cropland
Livestock
Orchards
Terraced cropland and contour plowing
Unimproved pastures
Vineyards
Wood lots
Shrubs
Wooded marsh
Clearings

Engineering Features

Athletic stadiums
Bridges
Campgrounds
Canals and drainage ditches
Cemeteries
Dam structures
Drive in theaters
Fences
Fire (lookout) towers
Levees
Military forts
Picnic areas
Pipelines
Power substations
Power transmission lines
wooden poles
metal towers
underground cables
Racetracks
Railroad stations
Railroads (related detail features)
Reservoirs
River docks and ferry landings
Road-cuts and Road-fills
Sewage disposal plants
Ski lifts
Tanks (Oil, gas, and water)
Telephone lines wooden poles metal towers underground
Telephone substations
Towers (radio and television)
Water filtration plants
Water storage tanks
Windmills

Forest Vegetation Features

Coniferous trees (Pine trees)
Deciduous trees (Hardwood trees)
Mixed Predominately Coniferous trees, and Deciduous trees. (60/40)
Mixed Predominately Deciduous trees and Coniferous trees. (60/40)
Bottomland hardwoods Understory

Geological and Physiographic Features

Alluvial Fans
Anticlines and Synclines
Cliffs
Eskers and Drumlins
Geological faults and fractures
Hogback ridges
Rock outcrops
Sheet or gully erosion
Volcanic lava flows

Industrial and Utility Features

Automobile manufacturing
Cement, and concrete manufacturing
Chemical manufacturing and storage
Corridors and Rights-of-way (gas, oil, and electric)
Electric lines (wooden and steel towers)
Electrical power plants
Electrical substations (power distribution)
Furniture manufacturing
Lumberyards
Meat processing plants
Municipal water wells
Petroleum and chemical plants
Petroleum and chemical storage areas
Pulp and paper mills
Sawmills
Sewage disposal plants
Steel and other metal fabrication
Stockyards
Textile mills
Water purification plants

Military and Defense Features

Airfields (airplanes and helicopters)
Ammunition dumps (storage)
Artillery ranges
Barracks (Quarters or Residences)
Base (post)
Headquarters
Dry-docks
Mechanized vehicle storage (repair)
Radar installations
Rifle ranges
Shipyards
Tanks (storage of water, oil, and gas)
Temporary encampments
Warship docks