Lab 6

     Four maps were created in this lab section, a shaded relief model that layered a hillshade and a color ramped DEM model, a slope map, an aspect map, and finally a 3D map. The potential user-friendliness of this aspect of ArcMap was almost immediately evident, as the maps were quickly and easily created. Each offers a slightly different visual representation of the same raster elevation data, with one focusing on slope, another on orientation, another on elevation, and another on a three dimensional representation. This lab made it evident that DEMs can be displayed in a vast variety of ways, with just a few previously mentioned. This allows for a multi-faceted approach to analyzing certain types of GIS data, thus broadening the potential applications for DEMs and related GIS programs. Furthermore, they specifically function to improve the efficiency and accuracy of spatial analysis, which is a critical component of GIS. This became strikingly evident upon the creation of the 3D map during the lab, since it presented us with perhaps the most "realistic," and easily analyzed visual representation of the data. However, as with many other facets of GIS, DEMs are not without their pitfalls. These representations are limited to the hardware and software being used, and must also keep up with improvements made in technology. And even though the maps created in the lab were constructed with relative ease, individuals seeking to display some form of elevation data may be limited by their lack of knowledge and unfamiliarity with ArcGIS and other programs. Finally, one might also encounter problems when using DEMs to represent reality. Temporally affected data, such as lakes and rivers that dry out but return at certain times of the year (or the solid ground beneath them) may be difficult accurately represent on a DEM.

3D DEM