Lab 8

The first map is the total percent of population that is Black. The population becomes more dense as the colors fade from black to white. This map is a clear reflection that the Southern and Eastern part of the United States has a significant black population. The black population seems to be concentrated in one large area that begins in the south and sweeps up the east coast. This interconnectedness of dense black populations shows that the blacks had an original point of origin and have been ever expanding from that point.

The second map is a look at population densities of “some other race alone”. The lightly populated counties are shown in light blue and as the populations get more dense the blues get darker. The high concentrations of “some other race”, which appears to be Hispanic due to location, is like a mirror image of the black population densities. The populations begin in the Southwest and sweep up the west coast. These densities show that these populations have been moving up through Mexico into the United States.

The third map is the population densities of Asians in the United States. The highly dense areas are shown in blue, orange, green, respectively. The populations are the most dense on the west coast but there is no real trend like in the other races. The reason is that Asians did not stem from a single point of origin but rather came to the United Sates in all different places. Thus their population is spread through out the United States.

These maps are a reflection of specific racial populations across the continental United States. The populations are shown through percentages of the total population of the county. Each color reflects a different range of the total percent of that specific population per total population of the county. Using colors to reflect these ranges allows for a simple visual assessment of certain population densities. This analysis can be useful when you are looking to assess population trends. This analysis is only truly possible through the power of GIS. The GIS program has a substantial amount of potential and can be truly useful to anyone who takes the time to learn the program. Also GIS allows the user to explore new elements of maps that are not easily seen unless you are creating them. Learn and exploring with GIS has been a pleasant experience but the program can be very frustrating at times.