EXPERIMENT – 1

FAMILIARIZATION WITH GIS SOFTWARE, DATA INPUT

AIM: To familiarize with the main modules of ESRI's ArcGIS software and Data Input.

APPARATUS: Arc GIS Software, Survey of Nepal Topo Sheet.

THEORY & PRINCIPLE:

ArcGIS Overview:

The geographic information system software package ArcGIS was developed by the
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). ArcGIS is designed to create, develop, and
interact with new and existing geographic data. It’s designed to be a complete and integrated
system for geographic data processing.
The desktop form of ArcGIS is available with three levels of functionality. The most basic level is
called ArcView, which allows for many map making, visualization and map analysis capabilities.
For creating and editing spatial data that go into these analyses, ArcEditor adds capabilities on
top of ArcView. Finally, more advanced visualization and analysis tools are available at the
ArcInfo level At all levels, users interact with Desktop ArcGIS through three interface
components: ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcToolbox.
ArcMap is used to perform map and data-based tasks. These include geographic and attribute
data creation, editing, data viewing and querying, and map production.
ArcCatalog is designed to browse, organize, and document geographic data in a Windows
Explorer-like fashion. Operations such as previewing, copying, moving, renaming, or deleting can
be performed within this module.
ArcToolbox is the data management and geo-processing module embedded within ArcMap and
ArcCatalog. Task wizards have been created for the most commonly performed geoprocessing
operations. Some of the functionality includes: importing and exporting, overlays, buffering, and
statistical calculations.
Data Input Techniques:
The choice of data input method is governed largely by the application, the available budget, and
the type and the complexity of data being input.
There are at least four basic procedures for inputting spatial data into a GIS. These are:
1. Manual digitizing;
2. Automatic scanning;
 3. Entry of coordinates using coordinate geometry; and the
4. Conversion of existing digital data.

PROCEDURE:
1. Exploring the ArcGIS Help System
2. Exploring ArcMap tools
3. Starting with ArcCatalog or ArcMap and connecting to data inputs
4. Finding GIS data on the Internet
5. Downloading data from the web
6. Displaying data in ArcMap

RESULTS:

1. Manual Tracing of Base Map, Drainage Map, Contour map

2. Scanned Survey of Nepal Topo Sheet
 EXPERIMENT – 2
GEOREFERENCING AND PROJECTIONS

AIM: To assign spatial reference or georeference and projection to given Topo sheet or map

APPARATUS: Arc GIS Software, Scanned Survey of Nepal Topo Sheet

THEORY & PRINCIPLE:

Raster data is commonly obtained by scanning maps or collecting aerial photographs and satellite
images. Scanned map datasets don't normally contain spatial reference information. With aerial
photography and satellite imagery, sometimes the location information delivered with them is
inadequate, and the data does not align properly with other data you have. Thus, to use some
raster datasets in conjunction with other spatial data, need to align or georeference those to a
map coordinate system. A map coordinate system is defined using a map projection (a method
by which the curved surface of the earth is portrayed on a flat surface).

Georeferencing

It is a process of locating an entity in real world coordinates. It aligns geographic data to a known
coordinate system representing earth defined through projection systems so it can be viewed,
queried, and analyzed with other geographic data.

To georeference a geographic data, the positions of known points, called control points, are
determined. The Ground Control Points (GCPs) are defined as the points with known
geographical location, whose positions on map correspond to their positions on earth. GCPs are
collected from fixed objects and are marked on the data to be georeferenced that define where
the data is on earth. The whole data adjusts itself according to these GCPs. At least three control
points are required for georeferencing a data. Additional control points help increasing the
accuracy. Once the data is georeferenced, each point has a coordinate associated to it which
means the location of any object in the data (map) can now be determined
 Figure: Georeferencing an image
Map Projection

Map projection is a mathematical expression using which the three-dimensional surface of earth
is represented in a two dimensional plane.

Commonly used projection systems:

Property Developable Aspect Projections Extent of use

surface
Normal Mercator Equatorial regions (east-west
extent)
Transverse UTM (Universal Whole world except polar
Transverse areas
Mercator)

Cylinder Oblique Rosenmund Small regions, oblique & east

Oblique Mercator - west extent
Cone Normal Lambert Small regions, oblique & east
Conformal Conic - west extent (1 or 2 standard
parallels)
Conformal Plane Any Stereographic Small regions upto
the hemisphere
(True shape) Polar UPS (Universal Polar regions
Polar
Stereographic)
Cylinder Normal Lambert Equal Equatorial areas (east-west
Area extent)
Cone Normal Albers Equal Area Smaller regions & continents
with east-west extent
Any Lambert Smaller regions about same
Homolographic Azimuthal Equal north-south , east-west extent
Plane Area
(Equal area) Equatorial Hammer-Aitoff World

Cylinder Normal Plate Caree World

Transverse Cassini Soldner Locally used for large scale
mapping
 Cone Normal Equidistant Conic Smaller regions & continents
with (1 or 2 st andard
parallels) east-west extent
Plane Any Azimuthal Smaller regions about same
Equidistant north-south , east-west
Equidistant extent
A geographic coordinate system (GCS) uses a three-dimensional spherical surface to define
locations on the earth. A GCS is often incorrectly called a datum, but a datum is only one part of
a GCS. A GCS includes an angular unit of measure, a prime meridian, and a datum (based on a
spheroid).A point is referenced by its longitude and latitude values. Longitude and latitude are
angles measured from the earth's center to a point on the earth's surface. The angles often are
measured in degrees (or in grads).

A projected coordinate system is defined on a flat, two-dimensional surface. Unlike a geographic

coordinate system, a projected coordinate system has constant lengths, angles, and areas across
the two dimensions. A projected coordinate system is always based on a geographic coordinate
system that is based on a sphere or spheroid.
In a projected coordinate system, locations are identified by x,y coordinates on a grid, with the
origin at the center of the grid. Each position has two values that reference it to that central
location. One specifies its horizontal position and the other its vertical position. The two values
are called the x-coordinate and y-coordinate

PROCEDURE:

Georeferencing a Topo sheet/Map

1. Open ArcMap with a new, empty map, and add the raster data to be georeferenced to
the ArcMap session.
2. Open View > Data Frame Properties > Coordinate System tab > Predefined, and browse
to the geographic Coordinate System\WORLD\WGS 1984 of the output coordinates you
will use in this process.
3. Add the Georeferencing toolbar to ArcMap.
4. Zoom in to the first point on the raster image that will be used as a control point, then
click the Add Control Points tool.
5. Place the cursor over the first control point in the raster and right-click.
6. Select Input X and Y.
7. Enter the known output coordinates for this control point and click OK.
8. Repeat the same procedure to enter all four points of the map for the desired
transformation order.
 9. Click View Link Table to evaluate the transformation and save GCPs.
10. Click the Georeferencing menu and select the rectify option to save the transformation
information with the raster in ‘IMAGINE image’ format.

Re-projecting maps

1. ArcToolbox → Data Management → Projections and Transformations → Raster → Project

Raster
2. Data Frame Properties → Coordinate System → projected coordinate system and browse
to UTM\ WGS 1984\ Northern Hemisphere\WGS_1984_UTM_Zone_44N.
3. Click Apply and ok to save the Re-Projection.

RESULTS:

1. The given Toposheet is georeferenced to minimum residual error and the resulting .img
file is also checked for accuracy.
2. The given georeferenced Toposheet is re-projected to the local/regional coordinates.
EXPERIMENT – 3
DIGITIZATION OF MAP/ TOPOSHEET

AIM: To digitize (Vectorization) a Map/Toposheet using ArcGIS.

APPARATUS: Arc GIS Software, Georeferenced and projected Survey of Nepal Topo Sheet.

THEORY & PRINCIPLE:

Digitization is the process of converting analog data into digital data sets. In GIS context
digitization refers to creating vector datasets viz., point, line or polygon from raster datasets.
It is a way of tracing/recording geographic features in vector format from georeferenced
images or maps. With the help of digitization we can create different set of layers Viz. Rivers,
roads, schools, ward boundaries and building blocks from a single map; this process is known
as Vectorization. Vector data is easy to edit, update and is more accurate as compared to raster
data. Vector data is more efficient for GIS analysis. Due to these reasons Vectorization is the
first step in many GIS projects.

Vector data is mainly of three types

- Point: It consists of single points having (X, Y) coordinates, for example lamp posts, bus stops
and postbox positions etc.
- Line: It consists a series of (X, Y) coordinates in a sequence (from start node to end node with
a number of vertices joining these two nodes). For example roads, power lines, ward
boundaries and contours etc.
- Polygon: It is a series of (X, Y) coordinates in a sequence closing a figure where first and last
points are the same. For example lakes, building blocks, village blocks, ward areas and forests
etc.

Shapefile

A shapefile is an Esri vector data storage format for storing the location, shape, and attributes
of geographic features. It is stored as a set of related files and contains one feature class.
Shapefiles often contain large features with a lot of associated data and historically have been
used in GIS desktop applications such as ArcMap.

PROCEDURE:
Creating a new shapefile

1. Open ArcCatalog
2. Navigate to project folder
3. From the menu, click File>New>Shapefile
4. Give shapefile a name and select geometry (point, line or polygon), based on what
type of features are trying to draw.
5. Use the Edit button to select the projected coordinate
system WGS_1984_UTM_Zone_44N.
6. Click on ok to create shapefile.
7. Use the same projection for all map layers in a project in order to preserve accuracy.
Editing Shapefile

1. Add shapefile to ArcMap project

2. Open the Attribute Table of shapefile
3. Using the Attribute Table Options button, use the Add Field button to add fields you want
to keep track of.
4. Optional: Set the symbology of your fields now. This will save time later when creating
features.

Digitization

1. Open the snapping toolbar Via Customize Toolbars>snapping

2. Make sure snapping is turned on and that all types are active.
3. Editor -> start editing. Select which layer to edit (your new shapefile point, line or
polygon). Select the task to perform (Create New Feature).
4. Select the editing pencil tool and click on, along, or around the features in a georeferenced
and projected map you want to digitize or vectorize. You can zoom and pan to make this
easier.
5. When finished drawing, right click and select Finish Sketch.
6. To edit the attribute table for the feature you just created click the Attributes icon on the
Editor Toolbar.
7. All the editable fields for the feature you just created will appear. This way you can label
your features as you create them.
8. When you’re done creating features click on the Editor button on the Editor toolbar and
select Save Edits, and then Stop Editing.
Note:
1. The symbology of the shapefile you just created can be manipulated.
2. Modifications to an existing layer can be made using the Modify Feature task, rather than
Create New Feature. Using the Edit Tool individual vertices can be moved, added or
deleted. Right-click the vertices with the edit tool to see all options available.
3. You can only edit the values in the Attribute Table of your shapefile while in Editing is
turned on
4. However, you cannot create new fields in the Attribute Table while Editing is turned on.
Create fields before starting an editing session.

RESULTS:
The different vector layers created using the given Toposheet are:
1. Point features/layers:
2. Line features/layers:
3. polygon features/layers:
EXPERIMENT – 4
CREATION OF THEMATIC MAPS
AIM: To create thematic maps of given Toposheet using Arc GIS

APPARATUS: Arc GIS Software, Georeferenced and projected Survey of Nepal Toposheet.

THEORY & PRINCIPLE:

Thematic Map

A "thematic map" is a type of map especially designed to show a particular theme connected
with a specific geographic area. These maps "can portray physical, social, political, cultural,
economic, sociological, agricultural, or any other aspects of a city, state, region, nation, or
continent".
Thematic maps maps are further divided into two types,

a Choropleth map a map which uses differences in shading, colouring, or the placing of
symbols within predefined areas to indicate the average values of a particular quantity in
those areas.

b Isopleths map
An isopleth map generalizes and simplifies data with a continuous distribution. It shows the data
as a third dimension on a map, thus isopleth maps are more common for mapping surface
elevations, amounts of precipitation, atmospheric pressure, and numerous other measurements
that can be viewed statistically as a third dimension.

Types of Data

To create a thematic map using ArcMap you will need two kinds of data:

1 Spatial data: Displaying boundaries, roads, or some other geographic feature(s). Spatial data
is georeferenced in a real world coordinate system and may contain limited attribute
information associated with its features. Discrete geographic objects (as opposed to
continuously varying variables, like elevation) are generally represented by one or more of three
geometrical forms in a GIS:
• Points are used for showing occurrence or relative locations (rather than size or
dimension), of features such as trees and fire hydrants, or (from a large scale perspective)
buildings or cities.
• Lines, composed of connected points or nodes, can represent routes, pathways or
boundaries, or for uses not requiring detailed polygons, such as rivers or roads.
• Polygons consist of a series of nodes and lines enclosing an area, representing things such
as state boundaries, lakes, and tracts of land.
2 Attribute data: Descriptive information about a set of features and the information needed
to create the “theme” in a thematic map. It can be a statistical data set collected through
surveys, Census data, or any other information that describes the features represented in your
spatial data set.

PROCEDURE:

1. Open new ArcMap and change the data frame p r o p e r t i e s

to WGS_1984_UTM_Zone_44N.
2. Add the Georeferenced and projected Survey of India Toposheet which we have to digitize
for thematic maps creation using Add icon.
3. Create point, line and polygon shape files using arc catalog
4. Editor -> start editing. Select which layer to edit (your new shapefile point, line or
polygon). Select the task to perform (Create New Feature).
5. Select the editing pencil tool and click on, along, or around the features in a georeferenced
and projected map you want to digitize and create point, line and polygon themes.
6. When finished drawing, right click and select Finish Sketch,
7. To edit the attribute table for the feature you just created click the Attributes icon on the
Editor Toolbar.
8. All the editable fields for the feature you just created will appear. This way you can label
your features as you create them.
9. Use the 'symbology' tab of the layer properties to modify the characteristics of the theme
10. When you’re done creating features click on the Editor button on the Editor toolbar and
select Save Edits, and then Stop Editing.

Note:

Application of symbology to thematic map:

Layer properties-> symbology
E.g.
 1. Choropleth thematic map: Village theme, waterbodies theme, settlements theme etc.

• Legend Type: Graduated Color

• Classification Field: Population/village name
• Normalize by: <None>
• Color Ramps: multicolor

2. Isopleths map: Contour, Drainage themes etc

• Categories: Unique Value

• Values Field: drainage/contour ID
• Color Schemes: (don't change)
• Then click Add All Values

RESULT:

Thematic maps created in a given Toposheet are:

Choropleth thematic maps: Village theme, water bodies theme, settlements theme etc. Isopleth
thematic maps: Contour, Drainage themes etc.
EXPERIMENT – 5
BASE MAP PREPARATION

AIM: To create basemap of given Toposheet using Arc GIS

APPARATUS: Arc GIS Software, Georeferenced and projected Survey of Nepal Toposheet.

THEORY & PRINCIPLE:

A basemap is used for locational reference and provides a framework on which users overlay
operational or thematic layers, perform tasks, and visualize geographic information. The
basemap serves as a foundation for all subsequent operations and mapping. Basemaps provide
the context and a framework for working with information geographically. Basemaps tend to be
relatively static and, in a typical setting, are updated on an infrequent basis. In addition;
basemaps are often designed to be used at multiple map scales. The basemap portrays
appropriate content at each range of map scales.

Characteristics of GIS basemaps

In many ArcMap applications, users have basemaps onto which operational information,
observations, and derived information from analytic models are displayed and used. For
example:

• Orthoimagery is often used as a general base onto which operational information is

overlaid.
• In utilities applications, a land base of parcel boundaries, buildings, and other built
features are often used as a basemap.
• Many city maps use the street network as a basemap on top of which layers such as
incidents and events are displayed.

PROCEDURE:

1. Open new ArcMap and change the data frame p r o p e r t i e s

to WGS_1984_UTM_Zone_44N.
2. Add the Georeferenced and projected Survey of India Toposheet which we have to
digitize for thematic layers creation using Add icon.
3. Create point, line and polygon shape files using arc catalog.
 4. Editor -> start editing. Select which layer to edit (your new shapefile point, line or
polygon). Select the task to perform (Create New Feature).
5. Select the editing pencil tool and click on, along, or around the features in a
georeferenced and projected map you want to digitize and create point, line and polygon
layers.
6. When finished drawing, right click and select Finish Sketch,
7. To edit the attribute table for the feature you just created click the Attributes icon on
the Editor Toolbar.
8. All the editable fields for the feature you just created will appear. This way you can label
your features as you create them.
9. Use the 'symbology' tab of the layer properties to modify the characteristics of the
thematic layers.
10. Add a new basemap layer to your map. Right-click the data frame name in the table of
contents and click New Basemap Layer.
11. This adds a new basemap layer in your table of contents. The basemap layer behaves
much like a group layer in that you can drag content into it.
12. Select the layers that will comprise your basemap and drag them into the basemap layer.
13. Click Save as new layer to save the new basemap to the map.

RESULT:

The base map is prepared from all the developed map layers from the given Toposheet. The
basemap layers include:
EXPERIMENT – 6

DATA CONVERSION – VECTOR TO RASTER, RASTER TO VECTOR

AIM: To convert raster map to vector layer and vector layer to raster by using Arc GIS Software.

APPARATUS: Arc GIS Software, vector layers or shape files, raster layers or Georeferenced
and projected Survey of Nepal Toposheet.

THEORY & PRINCIPLE:

DATA CONVERSION:

Vectorization: Raster to vector conversion

In GIS digitization refers to creating vector datasets viz., point, line or polygon from raster
datasets. It is a way of tracing/recording geographic features in vector format from
georeferenced images or maps. With the help of digitization we can create different set of
layers Viz. Rivers, roads, schools, ward boundaries and building blocks from a single map; this
process is known as Vectorization. Vector data is easy to edit, update and is more accurate as
compared to raster data. Vector data is more efficient for GIS analysis. Due to these reasons
Vectorization is the first step in many GIS projects.

Vector data is mainly of three types

- Point: It consists of single points having (X, Y) coordinates, for example lamp posts, bus stops
and postbox positions etc.
- Line: It consists a series of (X, Y) coordinates in a sequence (from start node to end node with
a number of vertices joining these two nodes). For example roads, power lines, ward
boundaries and contours etc.
- Polygon: It is a series of (X, Y) coordinates in a sequence closing a figure where first and last
points are the same. For example lakes, building blocks, village blocks, ward areas and forests
etc.
Rasterization: Vector to Raster conversion

Rasterisation (or rasterization) is the task of taking an image described in a vector graphics format
(shapes) and converting it into a raster image (pixels or dots). The rasterised image may then be
displayed on a video display or printer, or stored in a bitmap file format.
Rasterisation may refer to either the conversion of models into raster files, or the conversion of
2D rendering primitives such as polygons or line segments into a rasterized format.
Polygon features to raster data
When you convert polygons, cells are usually given the value of the polygon found at the center
of each cell.

Polyline feature to raster data

When you convert polylines, cells are usually given the value of the line that intersects each cell.
Cells that are not intersected by a line are given the value of No Data. If more than one line is
found in a cell, the cell is given the value of the first line it encounters when processing. Using a
smaller cell size during conversion can alleviate this.

Point feature to raster data

When you convert points, cells are usually given the value of the points found within each cell.
Cells that do not contain a point are given the value of No Data. If more than one point is found
in a cell, the cell is given the value of the first point it encounters when processing. Using a smaller
cell size during conversion may alleviate this.

PROCEDURE:

Raster to vector conversion

1. Open new ArcMap and change the data frame p r o p e r t i e s

to WGS_1984_UTM_Zone_44N.
2. Open the snapping toolbar Via Customize Toolbars>snapping
3. Make sure snapping is turned on and that all types are active.
4. Editor -> start editing. Select which layer to edit (your new shapefile point, line or
polygon). Select the task to perform (Create New Feature).
5. Select the editing pencil tool and click on, along, or around the features in a georeferenced
and projected map you want to digitize or vectorize. You can zoom and pan to make this
easier.
6. When finished drawing, right click and select Finish Sketch.
7. To edit the attribute table for the feature you just created click the Attributes icon on the
Editor Toolbar.
8. All the editable fields for the feature you just created will appear. This way you can label
your features as you create them.
9. When you’re done creating features click on the Editor button on the Editor toolbar and
select Save Edits, and then Stop Editing.
Vector to Raster conversion

1. Open new ArcMap and change the data frame p r o p e r t i e s

to WGS_1984_UTM_Zone_44N.
2. Open vector layers or shape files point, line and polygon
3. Arc tool box->conversion tools->To Raster->click Feature to Raster.
4. Give Input feature point/ line/ polygon.
5. Select the field ID.
6. Give output raster location to store.
7. Select output cell size (optional).
8. Click on ok to finish.
RESULT:

1. Raster to vector conversion: point, line, polygon vector layers

2. Vector to Raster conversion: point, line, polygon raster layers
 EXPERIMENT – 7

ADDING ATTRIBUTE DATA – QUERYING ON ATTRIBUTE DATA

AIM: To add attribute data to the shapefile or layer and querying on attribute data
APPARATUS: Arc GIS Software, vector layers or shape files, Georeferenced and projected Survey
of Nepal Toposheet.
THEORY & PRINCIPLE:

Attribute data: Descriptive information about a set of features and the information needed to
create the “theme” in a thematic map. It can be a statistical data set collected through surveys,
Census data, or any other information that describes the features represented in your spatial
data set.

Adding attribute data you can add fields to your table using Arc Catalog or ArcMap. In Arc
Catalog, you need to open the layer or table's Properties dialog box and add the field to the list
on the Fields tab. In ArcMap, you can add a field through the attribute table of a layer or through
the Catalog window by accessing the same Properties dialog box and Fields tab. Inside either
application you can also use the Add Field geoprocessing tool.

Calculating area, length, and other geometric properties

To calculate the area or surface, perimeter or length of an entity is required to know the
geometry of each layer. It is also recommended that each layer has an assigned coordinate
system. In the following process you can apply to calculate the area and perimeter in a layer of
polygons. For polyline layers only the length can be calculated, and for XY coordinates (for
projected coordinates select Double, and for geographic coordinates select Text). For example,
to calculate the area and perimeter of a polygon, right click on the layer select Open Attribute
Table. In the attribute table in Table Options select Add Field. Assign a name (Area, Perimeter),
and in Type select Double and accept the changes. It is important to remember that if changes
in geometry are caused, the area, perimeter, or length fields are not updated automatically.
Therefore, the fields must be recalculated after having made some geometric change in an entity.

Querying On Attribute Data

 Selecting records in a table by attributes
There are various ways to select features in ArcMap. One way is to select features through
an attribute table. From a table, you can interactively select records by pointing at them,
 or you can select those records that meet some criteria; for example, find all cities with
a population greater than one million.

PROCEDURE:

Adding attribute data:

Adding fields

1. Right-click the table or layer in the table of contents and choose Open Attribute Table.

2. Click the Table Options button in the table window.

You can make calculations without being in an editing session; however, in that case,
there is no way to undo the results.

3. Click Add Field.

4. Type the name of the field.

5. Click the Type arrow and click the field type.

6. Set any other field properties as necessary.

7. Click OK.

Calculating area, length, and other geometric properties

1. Start an edit session.

You can make calculations without being in an editing session; however, in that case,
there is no way to undo the results.

2. Right-click the layer and click Open Attribute Table.

You can only perform geometric calculations on attribute tables.

3. Right-click the field heading for which you want to make a calculation and click Calculate
Geometry.

Optionally, you can press CTRL+SHIFT+G to open the Calculate Geometry dialog box.

4. Click the geometric property (area, perimeter, length etc)you want to calculate.

Different properties are available depending on the type of layer you're using.
 5. Click to use either the coordinate system of the data source or the coordinate system of
the data frame.

6. Click the units of the output calculations.

7. Optionally, if you have selected records in the table, choose whether to apply the
calculations to all records or just the selected ones.

8. Click OK.

Querying On Attribute Data:

Selecting records in a table by attributes:

1. Click to open layer attribute data, click on Table Options in the table you want to query

and click Select By Attributes .

2. Click the Method arrow and click the selection procedure you want to use.

3. Double-click the field from which you want to select.

4. Click the logical operator you want to use.

5. Click the Get Unique Values button, then scroll to and double-click the value you want
from the Unique Values list.

Optionally, you can type a value directly into the text box.

6. Click Verify to verify your selection. 7. Click Apply to update the selection.

8. Click Close.

Note:

Write a query in the query builder e.g.

1 "height">= 550
2 "water body" = 'Osman sagar'
RESULT:

1. New attribute data field is added to the shapefile layer and calculated its geometry 2.
Selected records in a table by using Querying On Attribute Data
EXPERIMENT – 8
VECTOR ANALYSIS
AIM: To perform Vector Analysis using Geoprocessing Tools using ArcGIS

APPARATUS: Arc GIS Software, vector layers or shape files, Georeferenced and projected Survey
of Nepal Toposheet.

THEORY & PRINCIPLE:

Vector Analysis

• Vector analysis includes any of the formal techniques which study entities using their
topological, geometric, or geographic properties. Spatial analysis has a set of tools used
for analyzing spatial data. The results of spatial analysis are depended on the location of
the objects being analyzed.

Geoprocessing tools

Geoprocessing is a framework and set of tools for processing geographic and related data. The
large suite of geoprocessing tools can be used to perform spatial analysis or manage GIS data in
an automated way. Geoprocessing tools allow you to create, conduct surface analysis on, modify,
and convert terrain datasets.

Buffer:

The Buffer tool creates a new coverage of buffer polygons around specified input coverage
features. Features can be polygons, lines, points, or nodes. You can use the Buffer tool to identify
or define an area within a specified distance around a feature. For example, you may create a
buffer to define an area around a river to identify land that can't be developed, or you may want
to create a buffer to select features within a specified distance of a feature.

Clip:

Extracts input features that overlay the clip features. Use this tool to cut out a piece of one
feature class using one or more of the features in another feature class as a cookie cutter. This is
particularly useful for creating a new feature class—also referred to as study area or area of
interest (AOI)—that contains a geographic subset of the features in another, larger feature class.

• The Clip Features can be points, lines, and polygons, depending on the Input Features
type. o When the Input Features are polygons, the Clip Features must also be polygons.
 o When the Input Features are lines, the Clip Features can be lines or polygons. When
clipping line features with line features, only the coincident lines or line segments are
written to the output, as shown in the graphic below.
o When the Input Features are points, the Clip Features can be points, lines, or
polygons. When clipping point features with point features, only the coincident
points are written to the output, as shown in the graphic below. When clipping
point features with line features, only the points that are coincident with the line
features are written to the output.
• The Output Feature Class will contain all the attributes of the Input Features.

Intersect:

Intersect creates a new feature from the common areas or edges of any two selected features of
the same geometry type. The new intersected feature is created using the settings specified in
the chosen feature template.You can create a new feature from the intersection of features of
different layers, but the layers must be of the same geometry type (either line or polygon). The
original features are maintained, and the new feature is created without attribute values in the
current layer. You must manually enter attribute values for the new feature.

Union:

Union combines selected features into one new feature. Although the features may be from
different layers, the layers must be of the same geometry type—either line or polygon. Union
calculates the geometric union of any number of feature classes and feature layers.All input
feature classes or feature layers must be polygons. The output feature class will contain polygons
representing the geometric union of all the inputs as well as all the fields from all the input
feature classes. See below for examples of how attribute values are assigned to the output
features.

Union does the following:

• Determines the spatial reference for processing. This will also be the output spatial
reference. For details on how this is done, see Spatial Reference. All the input feature
classes are projected (on the fly) into this spatial reference.
• Cracks and clusters the features. Cracking inserts vertices at the intersection of feature
edges; clustering snaps together vertices that are within the x,y tolerance.
• Discovers geometric relationships (overlap) between features from all feature classes.
• Writes the new features to the output.

Merge:
 Combines multiple input datasets of the same data type into a single, new output dataset.
This tool can combine point, line, or polygon feature classes or tables.

Usage:
• All fields in the output dataset and the contents of those fields can be controlled using
the Field Map controls.
• If feature classes are being merged, the output dataset will be in the coordinate system
of the first feature class in the Input Datasets list, unless the Output Coordinate System
geoprocessing environment is set.
• This tool does not support annotation feature classes.
Use the
Append_Annotation_Feature_Classes tool to combine annotation feature classes.
• This tool does not support raster datasets. Use the Mosaic To New Raster tool to merge
multiple rasters into a new output raster.

Dissolve:

Creates a new coverage by merging adjacent polygons, lines, or regions that have the same
value for a specified item.

Usage:

• This tool is used to create a simplified coverage from one that is more complex. Although
the input coverage may contain information concerning many feature attributes, the
output coverage contains information only about the dissolve item.
• The merging of polygons with this tool is the counterpart of intersecting polygons in
overlays. Dissolve will remove the boundaries.
• Dissolve eliminates nodes or arcs between adjacent lines or polygons containing equal
values for the dissolve item.

PROCEDURE:

Buffer:

1. Click the Geoprocessing tools and click Buffer.

2. Input the feature around which you want to create a buffer.
3. Type the distance in map units for the buffer area around the feature.
4. Choose the target in which the new feature will be created.
 o If you have feature templates for the layers in your map, click the Template button
and click the template to use to create the new feature. You can also double-click
the preview of the template to choose a different template.
o If you do not have feature templates, click the layer in which to create the feature.
5. Click OK.

Clip:

1. Click the Geoprocessing tools and click Clip.

2. Select or input the features you want to use to clip.
3. Type a buffer value. You can leave the value as 0 if you are clipping with a polygon feature.
4. Click the type of clip operation: whether to discard or maintain the area that intersections.
5. Click OK to clip the feature.

Intersect:

1. Click the Geoprocessing tools and click Intersect

2. Select or input the features from whose intersection you want to create a new feature.
3. Choose the target folder in which the new feature will be created.
o If you have feature templates for the layers in your 3D view, click the Template
button and click the template in which to create the new feature. You can also
double-click the preview of the template to choose a different template.
o If you do not have feature templates, click the layer in which to create the new
feature.
4. Click OK.

Union:

1. Click the Geoprocessing tools and click Union

2. Select or input the features you want to combine into one
3. Choose the target folder in which the new feature will be created.
4. If you have feature templates for the layers in your map, click the Template button
and click the template to use to create the new feature. You can also double-click
the preview of the template to choose a different template.
5. If you do not have feature templates, click the layer in which to create the feature.
6. Click OK.
Merge:

1. Click the Geoprocessing tools and click Merge

2. Select or input the features you want to merge. The features must be from the
same layer.
3. Choose the target folder in which the new feature will be created.
4. Click the feature that the features will be merged into and will supply the
attributes for the merged feature.
5. Click OK.

Dissolve:

1. Click the Geoprocessing tools and click Dissolve

2. Select or input the features you want to Dissolve
3. Select the output feature class
4. Select the dissolve field (optional)
5. Choose the target folder in which the new feature will be created
6. Click OK.

RESULTS:

Vector Analysis is performed using Geoprocessing Tools in ArcGIS The

resultant layers generated are:

Buffer: point buffer, line buffer, polygon buffer

Clip: Clip feature

Intersect: Intersected polygons

Union: polygons combine into one

Merge: polygons merged
Dissolve: Dissolved features