Large Cities and Waterways of Florida

In Module 2 of Cartography, we learned about map typography and different ways to properly use map elements to highlight land and water data. Utilizing point (cities), line (water ways), and polygon (swamps) data in Florida, I created the map below.

Figure 1: Map of large cities and waterways in Florida.

Utilizing ArcGIS pro, I first deleted any data that I did not need from the attribute tables. I then converted each category's symbology from single to unique depending on their data's correct name. Now I was able to create labels for the data I needed. (I originally used the Labels SQL function to narrow down the labels to only those that I needed, but that resulted in a very cluttered legend at the end.) I played around with colors/fonts for each category and saved all my actions. I also changed the positioning of the labels for the rivers to 'river placement." I then converted the data category to annotation (i.e. Rivers). (I learned the hard way to make sure to change the GroupAnno name into something different, like GroupAnno2, because I left it the same and when you go to create an annotation for a new group, it deletes the previous groups' labels.) Lastly, I changed the labels to locations that were correct and pleasing to the eye.

A couple of customizations I performed are stated below, to make this a neat and organized map:

1) I removed the excess data not needed for this map to have a simple legend.

2) I removed the basemap as it had labels for cities that caused duplicates and additional information that I did not need. I decided not to add a colored background so the highlighted features stood out more. The Florida keys also faded away and blended into the colored background.

3) I added a "quote line" to the Okefenokee Swamp label outside the map, so the label would not cover parts of the Suwannee River.

4) I bolded Tallahassee so the capitol would stand out, as well as placed a more vibrant symbol; a star.

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