ESCI 1411: Assignment 2 – Scale, Coordinates and Projections

Introduction
Understanding fundamental cartographic concepts such as scale, projections and coordinate
systems, and applying them to map development and map reading are essential for any
cartographer to know and to use.
Scale is important because it provides the user a sense of size (extent) and level of feature detail
(resolution) of a geographic area or location. Scale also allows one to estimate sizes of objects
and measure distances between those objects within a map framework.
Coordinate reference systems are essential because first, they offer a user a precise way of
pinpointing, numerically, where objects are on the earth’s surface or on a map. Examples of
common coordinate reference systems are Latitude and Longitude and Easting and Northings.
Second, they inform the user what ellipsoid was used to reference a geographic area and how old
it was (datum). If there is datum discrepancy between map layers, then they will not line up!
That means your measurements and any spatial analysis (overlays) will be compromised.
Projections are vital in map-making because they help to mold a 3-D earth onto a 2-D plane (ex.
paper, computer screen). This transformation is not without its challenge. Every projection
carries different levels of distortion and if the wrong projection is chosen, measurements of
conformity, area, distance, and direction will be affected.
To apply some of these concepts, you will utilize digital and paper maps, an internet mapping
application, spreadsheets and cartographic software (ArcPro) to answer and address various
questions outlined below.

Learning Outcomes
The point of this assignment is to test your ability to:
1. Describe the impact various scales have on feature and object detail via internet
mapping software.
2. Identify various scale types found on a map.
3. Solve general scale and distance calculations from a map.
4. Pinpoint various features on a map using the Latitude and Longitude and Easting and
Northing coordinate reference systems.
5. Convert coordinates from one format to another (DMS→DD).
6. Utilize Tissot’s Indicatrix in ArcPro to depict and describe levels of distortion of
specific projections.
7. Measure distance discrepancies between an older and newer datum in ArcPro.

Deliverables
You are responsible for completing the tasks outlined below in a neat, well-organized report.
Your report should be typed. Your name, student ID and course number should appear on the

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front of your report. All your maps, screenshots, etc. should legible and not “fuzzy”. If you
cannot decipher your images than we will not be able to either and if that is the case, then marks
will be lost. You must upload your assignment (as a Word Document or .pdf only) through the
SafeAssign application via the BlackBoard course site. Your assignment is due before your
designated lab time (so for Section 51 – Tuesday, October 4th and for Section 52 – Thursday,
October 6th), making this a 2-week lab! before 2:30pm. There is a total of 62 marks and the
assignment is worth 10% of your grade. Check the course syllabus for the late policy. You must
do all your work independently and it must be referenced appropriately. If you fail to meet this
requirement, you will lose marks.

Before You Begin

For those who have downloaded and installed ArcMap onto their PCs…..please download the
Lab2 file from the Blackboard or Microsoft Teams site onto your C:\drive – do not forget where
you put it - and extract the files. (7-Zip is a great extraction program if you need it -
https://www.7-zip.org/)
For those who are using the GIS Lab computers, please make sure you copy the Lab2 folder and
paste it into your UWindsor One Drive or onto a flash drive. Please note that you cannot save
onto the lab computers on the C:\drive, so whenever you create a new output, please make sure
you save it into your One Drive or your flash drive.

Part A: Scale (16 marks)

►Using a web browser, open the City of Nanaimo’s web mapping application
(https://nanmap.nanaimo.ca). Please press the “I Accept” disclaimer button. At the bottom of the
page, in the Scale tool, set the scale to 1:90,000 and click Go. Take a screenshot of the map and
paste the image into your assignment document. Using the same steps as above, take screenshots
for the following scale classes: 1:20,000, 1:10,000, 1:3,000, & 1:1000. Make sure your maps
are centered within the city and not into the water.
Q1. When comparing all these maps, please explain how the difference in scale affects: a)
the geographic extent and b) the level of resolution. Which maps are large scale, and which
are small scale? Be specific. (4 marks)

►Go to the Lab2\Maps folder and open the .jpeg file Map 1 - Detroit MI in an image viewer.
Q2. What is the title of this map? (1 mark)
Q3. What is the RF scale of this map? (1 mark)
Q4. What projection is this map in? (1 mark)

►Go to the Lab2\Maps folder and open the .jpeg file Map 2 - Detroit MI in an image viewer.
Q5. What is the title of this map? (1 mark)
Q6. What is the RF scale of this map? (1 mark)
Q7. What projection is this map in? (1 mark)

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►Using the paper map: Columbia Icefield, British Columbia (Sheet 83 C/3). Please do not fold,
roll or draw on the map.
Q8. Use the RF scale on the map to determine the distance (in kilometres on the ground)
between the centres of the Snow Dome and Mount Kitchener (these sites can been in the
north/northwest section of the map. You should have a ruler handy to obtain your distance
measurement in cm. Show all your calculations. (3 marks)

►Using the paper map Tilbury, Ontario (Sheet 40 J/8d). Please do not fold, roll or draw on the
map.
Q9. Use the RF scale on the map to determine the distance (in kilometres on the ground)
between the Cannery and the centre of the Sports Track (these sites can be found close to
vicinity of Tilbury itself). Again, you should have a ruler handy to obtain your distance
measurement in cm. Show all your calculations. (3 marks)

Part B: Coordinates (24 marks)

►Using the paper map Boloeil, Quebec (Sheet 31 H/11 East Half). Please do not fold, roll or
draw on the map.
Q10. Using the Latitude and Longitude graticule (in black lettering), please provide the
coordinates in degrees, minutes, seconds for the following locations (they are highlighted by
coloured dots on the map image). Be careful to give the full or unique global location with
proper notation and to list them in the correct order (6 marks)

Centre of Lac Hertel

Centre of Ile aux Cerfs
Centre of Ste. Madeleine Town

Q11. Using the same map and the Easting and Northing graticule (in blue lettering), please
provide the coordinates in metres for the same locations. Be careful to put them in the
correct order with the proper units and notation. (6 marks)

Centre of Lac Hertel

Centre of Ile aux Cerfs
Centre of Ste. Madeleine Town

►Go into the Lab2 folder and open the ConvertCoordinates.xlsx spreadsheet in Microsoft
Excel. This spreadsheet shows the Latitude and Longitude (in degrees, minutes, seconds) of
several bus stops in the City of Windsor. However, this format is not useful when trying to bring
these coordinates into the ArcPro software, and for the cartographer to be able to plot these
points on a map, the coordinates need to be in the decimal degree format. To do this, you will
need to use a simple equation to do this conversion (Hint: Lecture 3 – Slide 26).
Q12. Use the excel spreadsheet to organize your work and to build the equations necessary
for the conversions. Please submit your spreadsheet with all the cells filled in with the
appropriate values, along with your final answers (8 marks). Also, please submit another

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spreadsheet that shows the formulas for each cell (Hint: In Excel under the Formula menu
there is a tool called Show Formulas) (4 marks).

Part C: On-the-fly Projection Changes in ArcPro (12 marks)

►Maribeth Price (2012, p.38) states that,

“Transferring 3-D earth features onto a 2-D flat surface (i.e. paper or computer screen) causes
distortions of areas, distances, shapes, or angles. Projections are designed to minimize or
eliminate these types of distortions. Sometimes the name of the projected coordinate system
often gives a hint, for example, and equidistant projection displays accurate distances, while an
equal area projection displays accurate areas. The one to use depends on the purpose of the
map, which is why data are stored and used in many different projected coordinate systems,
rather than just one."
►Changing the Projections View
From the Start Menu click All Apps>ArcGIS, start ArcGIS Pro.
Under the New Project Section, select Start without a template.

Click the New Map icon then click Add Data and add the latlong.shp first from your
Lab2\Projections. Next add the Country and Circles shapefiles into your Table of Contents.
Organize these layers so that latlong.shp is at the bottom of the list, the countries are in the
middle and the circles.shp is on the top.

Right-click on the latlong.shp layer in the Table of Contents and select Properties. Click on the
Source tab and expand all the sections.

Q13. Take a screenshot of this full window. In the Extent section, describe what type of
coordinates you see? Also, what is the Spatial Reference section telling you about this
layer? Be specific. Explain what this means about the datum and/or projection of this
layer. (3 marks)

►Now, right - click on the Map icon in the Table of Contents menu and select Properties.
Click on the Coordinate System tab and change the projection to Mercator (world). This can be
done by expanding the Projected Coordinate Systems folder → World folder and selecting the
projection mentioned above. Click OK. What happens to your map and map features?

Q14. Provide a screenshot of your Mercator projection map and using your screenshot
explain where you believe distortions occur and where accuracy is preserved. Please
validate your claims with some literature and citations. (3 marks)

►Now, click on the Properties menu again. Click on the Projected Coordinate System tab and
change the projection to Azimuthal Equidistant (world). Click OK.

Q15. Provide a screenshot of your Azimuthal projection and using your screenshot explain
where you believe distortions occur and where accuracy is preserved. Please validate your
claims with some literature and citations. (3 marks)
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► Using the same steps as you did above change and change the projection to Equidistant Conic
(world).

Q16. Provide a screenshot of your Conic projection and using your screenshot explain
where you believe distortions occur and where accuracy is preserved. Please validate your
claims with some literature and citations. (3 marks)

Exit out of ArcPro.

Part D: Datum Shift (10 marks)

► According to Natural Resources Canada (2020), a datum “defines how a coordinate system is
seated over the ellipsoid. The origin of the new NAD83 system is the centre of mass of the Earth,
whereas the old North American Datum 1927 (NAD27) had a different origin, making it useful
only in North America.” Because 2 different ellipsoids are used, this discrepancy can cause what
is called a “datum shift”, meaning that spatial data layers will not line up correctly.
►Measuring Datum Discrepancy

From the Start Menu find ArcPro and open it. Again, click on the New Map icon.
Click the Add Data icon and add the WindsorBoundary.shp from the Lab2\Datum folder. Next
add Street Centreline and the BusstopsNAD27 and BusstopsNAD83 shapefiles into your Table
of Contents. Organize and colour code these layers so that you can distinguish all the different
features appropriately.

Q17. Provide a screenshot of your map (1 mark).

►Now zoom into an area by using the scroll button on your mouse or by clicking on the Fixed
Zoom In tool .

Q18. Zoom in and take a screenshot of a couple of locations that show these 2 layers and
explain what you see. What is the average distance discrepancy between BusstopsNAD27.
shp sites and BusstopsNAD83.shp sites? Use the MEASURE tool to help you answer
this and take more than different 3 distance measurements to obtain your average. Please
show your calculations and which sites you chose to obtain your distance measurements.
(4 marks)

Q19. Explain what NADCON is and explain what ArcPro tools can help correct this
discrepancy? You may need to do a little research to answer this. Please make sure you
use citations to validate your answer. (5 marks)

Exit out of ArcPro.

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Works Cited
Price. M. 2012. Mastering ArcGIS. 5th Edition. McGraw Hill Companies.
Natural Resources Canada. 2020. Map Datum. Online https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-
sciences/geography/topographic-information/maps/national-topographic-system-maps/map-
datum/979 [Accessed August 23rd, 2019].

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