M6 Isarithmic Mapping

I am fan of color! This is my jam, I mean lab. This week we were introduced to isarithmic maps, which are two-dimensional representations of a three-dimensional volume. This lab consisted of taking the state of Washington's annual precipitation data and showing it using continuous tones, hypsometric tints, and overlaying contours and hillshades. This is the best way to show the data because it highlights the elevation data and allows the map reader to see the smooth and continuous rainfall across the state. I learned about PRISM interpolation method, digital elevation model, which was created by some brilliant minded people, and that generally precipitation increases with elevation. Maps like these are great for many fields of study including, agriculture, hydrology, ecology, and engineering just to name a few. Without further ado, the map below shows the annual precipitation data of Washington state in inches with a overlaying contour and hillshade created with ArcGIS tools Int and Contour List (both Spatial Analyst Tools). It was then classified into 10 classes and symbolized using the Precipitation color ramp.

Comments: This was lab was nice and straightforward. No issues and it ran smoothly. I could see myself liking this side of GIS in the future very much, because I see the potential it can have in various fields. It is also fun to see a rainbow of colors on my map and it not be against any map guidelines.