Lab 7

Source: US Census 2000 Beurau. Counties with a Black alone population Greater Than Zero, Ranked by Percent

We can note in this map the considerably larger concentration of black populations in the United States in the Southern and South Eastern part of the United States. We can also notice empty pockets containing counties with no black population in the upper middle of the united States.

In this map, as expected, we notice the Asian population congregating more in counties throughout the coast of California. Surprisingly to me, I have also noticed a heavy concentration of this group in northern Washington and the upper east part of Texas.

This maps shows a very marked difference in where other races choose to live in the United States by denoting a stronger preference by other races to congregate to the west of almost the very middle of the United States. The larger groups of this category, surprisingly, settle not just in California, but in several other parts of the South Western States. It would be interesting to dig deeper into how the US census came up with the various classifications for races and what prompted their criteria.

The creation of these census map series gave me a glimpse of the possibilities for map creation derived from data collection. It seems it may be possible to create maps from the census data tables that can reflect many different types of statistical data. Putting maps together from reliable sources of data could be fun and enlightening. 
Although I still find the ArcGIS software difficult to use and not very intuitive, I am very impressed with its capabilities. I've begun to understand the process and complexities involved in creating a map from structured research, and how to convert statistical data tables to a visual format, such as a map, that anyone can easily appreciate. I look forward to seeing the development of this software, perhaps in the near future to be produced also for the Mac operating systems which are usually more user friendly.
As far as GIS, in general, I find it a fascinating science. Geography had always interested me out of a curiosity since childhood for where and how people far away in other cultures lived. This course has given me a clearer idea as to how I had thus far come to interpret maps that reflect that data that had always interested me. It has also shown me the various steps involved in making a responsibly produced map and how is the product of a very structured process where from data collection to cartographic representation, the steps are to be very methodical.