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National Register of Historic Places: GIS Webinar

Cultural Resource GIS Facility

National Park Service

June 2012

National Register Draft Electronic Map Policy Factsheet

Required:

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WGS/NAD datum

A map that very clearly labels the property being nominated. The point or district should be instantly

distinguishable from the rest of the map.

full extent of the map. (A close up view.)

Provide a small scale map that depicts the nominated property in a wider context (similar to the scale of

the USGS topo map).

(Note: It is still acceptable to use hardcopy USGS maps and follow the previous map standard.)

In February and March 2012 the National Register of Historic Places held webinars in conjunction with the National Park

Service, Cultural Resource GIS Facility to discuss the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to help produce paper

locational maps and defining coordinates for submittal with nominations. The webinars discussed the draft policy

change currently being implemented by the National Register program outlining options and alternatives for submitting

UTM coordinates and paper USGS quadrangle maps. The draft policy allows for the inclusion of latitude/longitude

sometimes prohibitive for casual users. The intent of the National Register GIS webinars is to offer alternatives that will

produce the required maps and coordinates for a nomination, taking advantage of other available free alternatives. All

of the applications discussed in the webinars can produce the required locational information for a nomination, however

some function better for resources represented by a single point, while others function better for resources over 10

acres that require bounding coordinates.

BING Maps (ht

)

BING Maps, much like Google Maps, use an internet browser to provide basic street maps, navigation directions and

National Register sites nationwide using GIS software.

With BING Maps, typing an address into the search box at the top of the browser finds the location of the building, and

displays the decimal degree coordinates

associated with that location. BING Maps also

allows users to add locations as points or draw

boundaries, such as an historic district. These

point and area locations can be saved and

exported to a file format, such as a .kml or

.kmz, which can be read or used by Google or

boundary, BING Maps can produce a paper

required for a nomination locator map.

BING Maps provide basic information and

for single buildings and urban resources.

Providing bounding coordinates for an area larger than 10 acres, as required for a National Register nomination, is much

more difficult. BING only supplies coordinates when an address is typed into the search. Other requirements for a

nomination, such as acreage for a site, can be calculated with BING Maps, however; the units of that measure cannot be

Clicking on the My Places menu option at the top of the browser will open a small dialog box that allows the user to

place a push pin directly on the map, or draw an area feature.

Drawing an area feature using the tools in the My Places dialog box will allow users to define district or site boundaries

and g

are not provided for the various points identified as corners when drawing the area feature. This will make it difficult to

provide the bounding coordinates for an area for a National Register nomination.

Google Earth, unlike BING Maps or Google Maps, uses an internet based application to provide aerial photographs,

navigation directions, drawing tools and other geographic searching mechanisms. Google Earth is a very familiar

application to many users and is relatively intuitive to use. As a separate application, it does require users to download

coordinate information on the screen, updating and moving with the user as the display is manipulated. Rather than

generating a single latitude/longitude pair, Google Earth always indicates the coordinates of the cursor, whether the

user searched for the location or is just exploring the map.

Square feet

Google Earth will provide the same basic information as BING Maps or Google Maps, although it will make finding

coordinates for bounding areas, contributing resources, or multiples resources much easier for the user. Simply moving

the cursor to the appropriate location will generate a coordinate which can be marked on the map or copied into a

document for submission to the National Register. Other requirements for a nomination, such as acreage for a site,

BING Maps.

can be examined also.

placemarks or draws an area feature, all can be printed directly or to a .pdf

file. From the File and Print menus, users

can choose whether to print the screen

shot (as you see the screen now), or select

Note that choosing an area feature to print out will also produce the labels and scale bar. These images would replace

the regular USGS quadrangle map required for a nomination.

Like BING Maps, users can save the data produced when making placemarks or area features as .kml or .kmz files. Right

click on the feature in the Places window and select, Save Place As to open the Save dialog box. These files can be

submitted with the electronic nomination,

when this option becomes available.

is more sophisticated, it will take a little

more time to work with, however the

quality of paper maps that can be

produced is much higher. The

application is not quite as intuitive as

application window finds the location

and marks it with a pin. To edit the

location, get information about it,

analysis, users must select the right

search item, right click on the item and

transfers the item found to the

temporary map being created, moving it

as a data layer to the Contents window. Once in the Contents window, users right click on the item and select Go To, to

zoom into the area of interest. From this same menu, users can change the symbol associated with a feature or add a

label for the feature.

Like Google Earth, users can easily find coordinates associated with a point, line or area feature drawn on the map. Also

Google Earth, users need to define what coordinate system those coordinates will be displayed as on the screen, add

scale information and other map elements. Unlike Google Earth, where the cursor moving changed the coordinates,

ArcGIS Explorer always displays the coordinates associated with the center of the map view. Moving the map image, as

opposed to moving the cursor will update the coordinates displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Before drawing any permanent point, line or area features, users can right click on the pin placed in the map based on a

search to get the Properties of a feature, listing the coordinates in decimal degrees. This will be sufficient for resources

under 10 acres, where only a single coordinate is required by the National Register program.

Like Google Earth, tools at the top of the application window allow users to create points, lines or area features. For

each feature drawn, users may enter label information, popup window text or change the feature symbol and color.

Once these feature have been created, they will also appear as layers in the Contents window at the left of the

distances or areas and even