By Susan T.

Williams

Fall 2011

Project 7: Introduction to Raster GIS Analysis

Objective
This project involved utilizing the ArcMap v.10 software to convert between vector and raster formats,
creating hillshade and aspect layers from elevation data, interpolating continuous surface from sample
data points, creating buffer zones, performing distance calculations, reclassifying continuous surface
grids into discrete categories, performing map algebra calculations, and understanding the difference
between continuous and discrete data (King, 2011). Many previously-learned ArcMap skills were also
used, such as inserting a map legend, scale bar, north arrow, inset map, and other manipulations of
variables to create effective map layouts.

Introduction
This lesson presented the scenario of using GIS to locate suitable land for vineyards in a part of Napa
County, California. Considering that winemaking is crucial to Californias economy, and that California
alone accounts for over 90% of the nations wine production, it is easy to see why and how Geographic
Information Systems might assist the industry in determining areas for possible expansion. The given
criteria for selecting suitable land includes existing outside the floodplain and more than 100 meters from
a stream; type of land zoned for either agriculture or undeveloped; an aspect (slope orientation) between
112 and 337 degrees, or flat; average maximum wind speed less than 25 mph; average minimum
temperature more than 35 degrees; a soil depth between 31 and 72 inches; and medium to highlydrained soils (values of 1.5 to 3). Some of the data used in this project is not real and was compiled
solely for this educational lesson (ibid).

Procedure and Maps

Whereas data in previous lessons have focused on vector data which use points, lines, and polygons to
represent physical attributes, this lesson introduced the use of raster data which utilizes a grid pattern of
discrete cells that each represent a geographic feature such as temperature or elevation (ESRI, 2011).

One of the first manipulations of the lesson involved using Data Management Tools to perform a dissolve
on the Landuse polygon so that we only have to deal with four records one for each landuse type
rather than the original 80 records (see Figure 1).
Figure 1:
Screenshot of
the resulting
layer after a
Dissolve was
performed.
The Attribute
Table now holds
only four
records, one
for each
landuse type,
rather than the
original 80
records.
Screenshot
produced with
ESRI ArcMap
v10.0. Used
here for
educational
purposes only.

Although one of our downloaded layers was already in raster format, the other layers were not and
needed to be converted using the Polygon-to-Raster and Polyline-to-Raster Conversion tools. The
elevation grid, which was the only layer originally in raster format, was manipulated to produce a
hillshade effect that uses a hypothetical illumination of the terrain to result in a more three-dimensional
effect. The elevation layer was also manipulated to produce an aspect layer that interpolates the
surface area to determine various orientations of slope (King, 2011). The soil and climate layers
consisted of various sample points where the soil and temperature had been measured (see Figure 2).
This type of continuous data changes as the location changes, and we are able to interpolate surface
data for surrounding areas using the Spatial Analyst tool.

Figure 2: Screenshot of soils and climate vector data points overlaying the completed hillshade layer.
The yellow dots symbolize various soil samples and the blue dots symbolize various climate measurements
taken throughout a portion of Napa County, California. These data points will be averaged using the
Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) method to interpolate data for the areas in which no data point
currently exists. Map produced with ESRI ArcMap v10.0. Used here for educational purposes only.

My first thought on seeing the sample points was wondering how many are enough for gathering and
interpolating good, accurate data. On the one hand, you want to have enough points to accurately
represent the area and accurately interpolate the unsampled areas in-between. On the other hand, I
imagine it is very time and labor-intensive and therefore rather costly to obtain large number of
sample points. While I imagine this particular number of points will suit our purposes just fine for this area
because there is not a huge change in elevation or other geographic attributes, I speculated as to
whether or not there is some sort of guideline, formula, or rule-of-thumb as to how many data points one
should have for a given area.
As an aside, I posted this question in the Lesson 7 Discussion Forum to see what insight my fellow
students might have on the matter, and Professor King cited Bolstad as stating that there are relatively
few studies or well-established guidelines for determining the optimum sample number for most
interpolation methods. (Bolstad, 2007). Professor Sloan mentioned strategic sampling in order to best
represent the surface, assuming that one has control over sample locations. Regularly-spaced sample
locations may not necessarily be the most statistically significant, they explained , so it may be helpful to
involve someone with expertise in the phenomenon being measured, such as a geologist if you are
sampling soils, a meteorologist if you are measuring climatological data, and so on.

Once the data points were used to interpolate the area, I was able to generate raster layers that each
represented soil depth, soil drainage, average minimum temperature, and average maximum windspeed
(See Figure 3).

Figure 3: Raster layers produced from IDW interpolation of vector data points. These four maps
represent Soil Depth, Soil Drainage, Average Minimum Temperature, and Average Maximum Windspeed,
respectively.

Maps produced with ESRI ArcMap v10.0. Used here for educational purposes only.

I also reclassified the streams to create a 100-meter buffer zone.

Now that we have raster representations of these datasets, the next step is using the Spatial Analyst tool
to reclassify the data into two categories desirable or undesirable in terms of vineyard suitability.
Each of these datasets were reclassified into these two categories using the Equal Interval classification
method. The undesirable grid cells, which were given a value of 0, were then made transparent so that
only the desirable areas which had been given a value of 1 were visible. The desirable areas were
assigned a leafy-green color and had a 50% transparency applied so the general topography underneath
would not be obscured (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: The results of the reclassified layers for each of the seven desired criteria for suitable
vineyard sites.

The reclassified areas that have a desirable value of 1 are shown in green, whereas

the undesirable areas that do not meet criteria and have a value of 0 have been made transparent so
as not to show at all. These different layers must eventually be combined to obtain one final map
showing any potential vineyard sites that meet all seven criteria. Maps produced with ESRI ArcMap
v10.0. Used here for educational purposes only.

Map 1: Customized Layout of Lesson Results

Now that we have seven individual reclassified layers representing the seven criteria for suitable vineyard
sites, we need to combine them all together to generate one final map in which only the grid cells that
satisfy all the criteria for every layer will end up selected. Fortunately, the Spatial Analysts Raster
Calculator makes this a fairly straightforward process as long as we enter the correct equation (see
Figure 5).

Figure 5: The Raster Calculator can, when given the proper equation, combine multiple raster layers into
one single layer. In this instance, I have entered the equation that will combine our seven different
suitable site criteria into one final map that displays only the areas that meet all seven criteria.
Screenshot from ESRI ArcMap v10.0. Used here for educational purposes only.

In the previous lesson, I learned that green is the conventional color for vegetation, parks, and
recreation, red for commercial, yellow for residential, and blue for industry. (ibid) Therefore I elected to
use a leafy-green hue to represent the land areas that exist outside both the floodplain and the 100-meter
stream buffer zone, and a lovely purple hue to represent suitable sites that meet all the aforementioned
criteria for vineyards. Not only does the purple hue make one think of wine, which is the focus of this
map, but it also represents the color that results from combining the conventional red hue that represents
commercial zoning and blue that represents industry. Purple hues have the added benefit of being userfriendly to color-deficient viewers who may otherwise struggle to distinguish between areas of red and
green (Brewer, 1999).
To create the first custom map (see Figure 7), I selected the existing template LandscapeModernInset
and applied the map elements to it. It was a good starting point, although I did elect to make several

changes. This layout was a good choice for this particular map because of the square orientation,
enabling me to take advantage of the available space to enlarge the main map accordingly. I changed all
background colors to white to minimize any unnecessary colors that might detract from the various colors
on the map and distract or confuse the map reader. Although I did keep color in the header bar to
emphasize the main text and title of the map, I consciously used colors that already exist elsewhere on
the map so as to tie it together rather than overwhelm with too many additional hues. I placed the legend
at the top right due to its importance and the north arrow at the bottom to help balance the weight of the
scale bar. A slight drop shadow was placed around the main map for additional weight and emphasis as
a focal point.
I also created two overview maps to use as insets by downloading the free USA_Counties ArcGIS Layer
Package from the very useful ESRI Data & Maps website (ESRI Data & Maps, 2011). The first inset map
shows the location of Napa County within the state of California, and the second map shows the location
of the area we are analyzing in detail within Napa County. These help map viewers easily orient
themselves and better understand what they are looking at and how it relates to the area around it. I feel
that the inset maps are a nice touch that helps anchor the main map and prevent it from feeling too
disembodied. In
order to create these
inset maps from the
ESRI data, I first ran
an attribute query for
State_Name =
California and
created a new layer
from that selection,
then removed all the
other states from the
Table of Contents.
A similar query was
run for Name =
Napa to create a
layer specific to the
county (see Figure
6). Extent Indicators
were then added
within the Data
Frame Properties
and callouts were
added to identify
specifically what
each inset map was
representing.

Figure 6: Attribute query performed on ESRIs USA_Counties data in order to isolate first the state
of California and then Napa County for inset maps. Screenshot from ESRI ArcMap v10.0. Used here
for educational purposes only.

Knowing that the raster cell size is 10 meters square, we can calculate the area of suitable vineyard land.
The SuitableSites Attribute Table reveals that there are 52,422 raster cells with the desirable value of 1
(the areas represented in wine purple in Figure 7). Since a cell is 10 meters square, each cell measures
100 meters in area (10m x 10m), giving us 5, 242,200 square meters, or approximately 1295 acres that
would serve as prime vineyard locations in this portion of Napa County.

Figure 7: Customized thematic map displaying approximately 1295 acres suitable for vineyards in a
portion of Napa County according to the seven criteria discussed previously. Areas outside the floodplain
and stream buffer zones are shown in green while the suitable sites are shown in a wine-hued purple
shade that is user-friendly to color-deficient viewers. Overview maps and callouts help orient the user
to the maps location in relation to the county and state. Map produced with ESRI ArcMap v10.0. Used
here for educational purposes only.

Further Refinement (TryThis! Results)

Just as Im about to settle back with a celebratory glass of what else? wine, I realize that I forgot one
thing: the vineyards cannot be located on public lands.
After downloading an additional shapefile that specified public vs. private land in this portion of Napa
County, the layer was converted to raster format using the Polygon-to-Raster tool in Conversion Tools.
The data was then reclassified into two categories - public lands are unsuitable for vineyards so they
were assigned an undesirable value of 0, whereas private lands were assigned a desirable value of 1.
The areas with the undesirable value of 0 were marked transparent so that only the desirable private
lands would show. Even though we have not yet combined this with our other raster layers, we can
already see that some of the areas we had previously marked as suitable are on public lands and will end
up being excluded from our final results (see Figure 8).
Figure 8: The pale blue overlay represents
private lands, whereas public lands are
transparent. Even though these two layers have
not yet been combined, we can tell that a fairly
large portion of the bright purple areas which
represented previously suitable sites are not
covered by the blue layer representing private
lands, and will therefore be disqualified for
suitability in final maps. Map produced with ESRI
ArcMap v10.0. Used here for educational
purposes only.

I then used the Raster Calculator in the Spatial Analyst Tool (see Figure 9) to multiply the new ownership
grid with the previous Suitable Sites grid, resulting in a single new grid that combines all the suitability
criteria from our previous calculations in addition to the new land ownership data.

Figure 9: Screenshot showing the equation

entered into the Raster Calculator for the Try
This segment. As we had already combined all
previous layers into a single layer, we simply need
to multiply the combined SuitableSites layer by
the new owner_raster layer. Screenshot
produced with ESRI ArcMap v10.0. Used here
for educational purposes only.

As we guessed from viewing the still-uncombined overlay in Figure 8 above, this eliminated quite a bit of
the area previously deemed suitable, leaving only approximately 739 acres of potential vineyard land in
that portion of Napa County (see Figure 10).

Figure 10: Customized thematic map displaying approximately 739 acres of private land suitable for
vineyards in a portion of Napa County. Areas outside the floodplain and stream buffer zones are shown
in green while the suitable sites are shown in a wine-hued purple shade that is user-friendly to colordeficient viewers. Overview maps and callouts help orient the user to the maps location in relation to
the county and state. Map produced with ESRI ArcMap v10.0. Used here for educational purposes
only.

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Analysis Improvement?
One possible way to improve the analysis would be the addition of more climate and soils data points.
While this would most likely result in improved accuracy, it could also be cost-prohibitive.
Another way in which the analysis could potentially be improved would be to consider the overall size of
potential vineyard sites. Some of the potential vineyard sites on the map are quite small and I imagine
that they would not be worth the time, money, and effort to begin a large agricultural venture in such a
small space. Additionally, a little research revealed that Napa County has ordinances in place which
limits the minimum lot size to 40 acres in Agricultural Preserve zones and 160 acres in Agricultural
Watershed zones (Napa County, 2009). Clients should therefore provide an approximate minimum area
size that they would be willing to consider that also meets Napa County Planning requirements.
With this idea in mind, I zoomed in to a portion of the map and used the Measure Tool (set to acres for
Area) to approximate the area of one of the potential vineyard sites that had otherwise met all previous
criteria for suitability (see Figure 11). This particular site measured only 4.5 acres in area and would not
meet Napa Countys 40-acre minimum parcel size zoning rule, which means that this site and others
like it would most likely have to be excluded from the final list of potential vineyard sites.

Figure 11: The results of utilizing the Measure Tool to approximate the area of one potential vineyard
site shown in purple - that has otherwise met all previous criteria for suitability. At 4.5 acres, this
parcel of land would not meet Napa County Planning requirements and would most likely have to be
excluded from the potential sites. Map produced with ESRI ArcMap v10.0. Used here for educational
purposes only.

What About Using Higher Resolution Data?

For this lesson, we worked with a raster cell size of 10 meters (100 square meters). This is a fairly large
area in which data needs to be interpolated, which leaves a greater margin of error. The use of higher
resolution data that is, smaller cell size -- would most likely improve the accuracy of this analysis.
However, the higher resolution would consume more hard drive space on the computer as well as require
more time to process and produce the image.

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For this particular lesson, the cell size of 10 seems sufficient. However, it may be beneficial to use higher
resolution in a scenario where the client desires a more detailed and accurate map for a final site
selection.

Summary
Raster grids enable us to interpolate quantitative data from continuous measurements such as elevation,
temperature, and wind speed. This interpolation uses sample points to calculate values for nearby cells
that have no data, which helps overcome the impossibility of sampling every single point. Raster analysis
can be applied to a wide variety of issues and on many scales, from local to state or national or even
global, and is therefore a powerful tool that all GIS Analysts should know how to implement.
..

References
Report header [photo of wine and grapes] courtesy of Graphics Hunt at GraphicsHunt.com. Used here
for educational purposes only. Retrieved November 17, 2011 from
http://www.graphicshunt.com/images/bottle_of_wine-13863.htm
Bolstad, P. (2007). GIS Fundamentals: A First Text on Geographic Information Systems, First Edition.
Eider Press: White Bear Lake. P. 334.
Brewer, Cynthia Ann (1997). Spectral Schemes: Controversial Color Use on Maps. Cartography and
Geographic Information Systems 24:4, pp. 203-220. Accessed November 13, 2011 at
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-53947016/spectral-schemes-controversial-color.html
ESRI ArcGIS 10 Help (2011). Raster Basics. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
ESRI Data & Maps. USA Counties ArcGIS Layer Package. Retrieved November 20, 2011 from
http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=a00d6b6149b34ed3b833e10fb72ef47b
King, E., & Walrath, D (1999-2011). Problem-Solving with GIS, Lesson 7. The Pennsylvania State
University World Campus Certificate/MGIS Programs in GIS. Retrieved November 18, 2011 from
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog483/node/1879
Napa County (2009). Planning Division: Zoning and Land Use Permits, General Plan. Retrieved
November 22, 2011 from http://www.countyofnapa.org/GeneralPlan/
All maps produced with ArcMap v10.0 by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). (2011)
ArcGIS 10 Help. Esri, Redlands, California.

This document is published in fulfillment of an assignment by a student enrolled in an educational offering of the
Pennsylvania State University. The student, named above, retains all rights to the document and responsibility for
its accuracy and originality.

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