[R-sig-Geo] mapping introduction

[Rick Reeves]

Hi Tom:

Good question. The information on GIS/Mapping and R (as well as other 
open-source software tools)
is somewhat decentralized, but there is a great deal of high-quality 
information available if you
know where to look -

One place that you might start is the CRAN task view for spatial data 
analysis:

http://cran.r-project.org/src/contrib/Views/Spatial.html

Another is a web site that we are developing here at the Center intended 
to educate ecologists
here and elsewhere on spatial analysis / mapping / GIS techniques:

http://nceas.ucsb.edu/scicomp/SolutionsCenter.html

http://nceas.ucsb.edu/scicomp/SciCompDocuments.html

These sites have many links to spatial data analysis resources;
we are adding to these sites on a regular basis.

Another very good site is maintained by the Soil Resource lab at UC Davis:

http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/drupal/taxonomy_dhtml (site map)

Best Regards,
Rick Reeves


Tom Sgouros wrote:
> Hello all:
>
> I was referred to this list when I asked a question on the r-help list
> about mapping.  Unfortunately, I seem to be a little late to the party,
> and a couple of weeks of monitoring the traffic have left me no more
> enlightened than I was before, since it seems that the questions asked
> are generally at a level I haven't approached yet.
>
> I am an R user who wants to learn to make maps.  I have been using R to
> analyze data associated with cities and towns in my area, and would
> like to figure out how to get that data onto a map, but I'm having a
> hard time seeing where to begin.
>
> Assuming that I'm starting pretty much from zero, where can I start
> reading in order to learn what is possible?  (And what to use to achieve
> it.) 
>
> I'm also a little confused about whether people use R as a GIS stand-in,
> or whether they use some GIS package, and then use R as an adjunct.  If
> the latter, can anyone recommend GNU or other freeware GIS packages to
> learn about?  How about books to learn about them with?
>
> Many thanks for your indulgence,
>
>  -Tom
>
>   
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