GIS Tutorials

Listed here are the available step-by-step or explanatory articles on Geography Realm for accomplishing various tasks in GIS using ArcGIS, QGIS, Maptitude, and other mapping tools

ArcGIS Pro Tutorials

Urban planning tutorials

• Using Deep Learning to Map Land Cover in ArcGIS Pro
  This GIS tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on how to use deep learning models and Landsat 8 satellite imagery in ArcGIS to classify land cover.

• Extracting Building Footprints and Trees from Imagery Using ArcGIS Pro
  This tutorial teaches you how to extract trees and building footprints from satellite imagery using ArcGIS Pro.

• Mapping Buildings in 2.5D Using ArcGIS Pro
  Learn how to find and use building footprint data from OpenStreetMap to create a 2.5D map in ArcGIS Pro.

• How to Use ArcGIS Pro to Map Urban Heat Islands
  This ArcGIS Pro tutorial shows how to map a region’s urban heat.

Modeling in ArcGIS

• How to Use the Suitability Modeler in ArcGIS Pro
  Learn how to use the suitability modeler in ArcGIS Pro to map out suitable areas given a set of criteria.

Earth sciences tutorials

• How To Create Contours in ArcGIS Pro from LIDAR Data
  This ArcGIS Pro tutorial shows how to add LIDAR data from the National Map to ArcGIS Pro and create topography contours.

• Mapping Earthquakes with ArcGIS Pro
  This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to use USGS data and ArcGIS Pro to map earthquakes and geological faults.

• How to Use ArcGIS Pro to Calculate Land Surface Temperatures
  To calculate land surface temperatures using Landsat imagery, this ArcGIS Pro tutorial uses spatial data science and remote sensing techniques.

• How to Use ArcGIS Pro to Assess Landslide Susceptibility
  This lesson demonstrates how to use ArcGIS Pro to analyze landslide risk.

• How to Use ArcGIS Pro to Determine the Population Impacted by Air Pollution
  Learn to estimate air pollution’s impact on people with geospatial methods using ArcGIS Pro and data from Toxic Release Inventory, Worldpop, and ArcGIS Hub.

Hydrology tutorials

• Create a Bathymetric Map Using ArcGIS Pro
  This step-by-step GIS tutorial shows you how to create a bathymetry map using ocean data from GEBCO.

• How to Use ArcGIS Pro to Map Watersheds
  This tutorial shows you how to use ArcGIS Pro to delineate watersheds and drainage paths from elevation data.

• How to use ArcGIS Pro and Landsat 8 Imagery to Calculate Chlorophyll Index and Global Environmental Monitoring Index
  Tutorial on how to use ArcGIS Pro to determine the Chlorophyll Index (CI) and the Global Environmental Monitoring Index (GEMI) of Landsat 8 imagery in an area of interest.

Public health tutorials

• How to Use ArcGIS Pro to Estimate Areas Prone to Malaria
  This tutorial uses ArcGIS Pro to estimate malaria-prone areas utilizing Spatial Data Science and Remote Sensing techniques (ArcGIS Pro).

ArcGIS Business Analyst Web Map Tutorial

• Getting Started with the ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App
  This GIS tutorial provides a brief introduction to using the ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App.

QGIS Tutorials

Working with data in QGIS

• Creating Elevation Cross-Section Profiles with QGIS
  Learn to create elevation cross-sections in QGIS with the Profile Tool plugin and SRTM elevation data.
• Dissolve Features Based on Attribute in QGIS
  This GIS tutorial provides a step-by-step guide on how to dissolve features in QGIS based on an attribute field.

• How to Add Data from ArcGIS Online to QGIS
  Adding data from an ArGIS Online Map Service or Feature Service into a QGIS map project is fairly easy and quick in most instances.

• How to Add Leader Lines to Labels in QGIS 3.10
  When you’re trying to label a small space or have too many labels to fit into the area you need to label, adding leader lines (or call-outs) to your labels can help.

• How to Change the Projection of a Shapefile Using QGIS
  QGIS can easily export data into another coordinate or projection system if you know the beginning coordinate system or projection of your shapefile.

• How to Change the Map Projection to be Centered Over the Pacific Ocean
  This simple tutorial will show you how to recenter your map project in QGIS such that the Pacific Ocean is in the middle of the map view.

• How to Save a Selection as a New File Using QGIS
  This video tutorial will show you how to save a selection from a GIS dataset to a new GIS file using QGIS.

Routing in QGIS

• Using QGIS to Create Isochrone Maps and Identify Shortest, Fastest Routes
  Learn how to use QGIS, OpenStreetMap, and the ORS plugin to find shortest and fastest routes and to create 10 and 15-minute isochrone maps.

3D mapping in QGIS

• Creating a 3D Map of Drill Holes Using QGIS
  This step-by-step GIS tutorial shows you how to map drill hole data in 3D using QGIS.

Digitizing in QGIS

• Automatic Digitizing of Imagery Using QGIS
  This QGIS tutorial takes you step-by-step through the process of automatically digitizing building footprints using the Mapflow plugin and OpenStreetMap aerials.

Maptitude Tutorials

• Using GIS to Map Trends in Employment
  This tutorials shows users how to analyze ACS data from the US Census Bureau to calculate employment shift-share and location quotient using Maptitude.

• How Mapping Software Helps Us Analyze Earthquakes
  Mapping software can help us observe trends in earthquakes, identify areas of high earthquake prevalence, and explore relationships between earthquakes and other phenomena.

• GIS for Local Government: Economic Development and Site Selection
  This GIS tutorials shows how to use Maptitude in the municipal government sector for economic development and site selection.

• GIS for Local Government: Public Safety
  This GIS tutorial from Maptitude shows users how to map out crime and demographics.

• How to Measure Hotel Market Share using the Huff Model in Maptitude
  Learn how to map hotel market share to measure a city’s tourism attractiveness using Maptitude.

Excel mapping tutorial

• How to Make a Tile Grid Map Using Excel
  Step-by-step tutorial for creating a tile grid map of the United States using Excel.

Old GIS software tutorials

These are older tutorials for software that is deprecated.

ArcMap GIS Tutorials

• Calculating Polygon Area in ArcMap
  With a few simple steps, you can simply calculate geometry in ArcMap. You can figure out the area and perimeter of your polygons by calculating geometry in ArcGIS.

• How To Make Area Cartogram Maps in ArcGIS
  In this tutorial, I look at the Cartogram Geoprocessing Tool version 2 from Esri’s Arcscript site, which may be used to produce cartograms from GIS data.

• How to Convert a KML File into an ArcGIS Compatible Format
  Because ArcGIS cannot read KML files directly, you must first convert the KML file to a personal geodatabase (.gdb) using the KML2Layer tool included with ArcGIS.

Google Sheets Mapping Tutorials

• How to Make a Tile Grid Map Using Google Sheets
  This tutorial provides instructions on how to create a tile grid map using Google Sheets.

Mapping Fun Tutorials

• How to Use GIS to Make a Lego Map
  There are a few different ways to make a Lego-style map depending on the GIS software you wish to use.

General GIS Tutorials

• How to Cite GIS Material
• How to Install ArcView 3.x on Windows 7
• How to Calculate the Boundaries of an UTM Zone

More GIS Tutorial Resources

Free Ways to Learn QGIS
There are some good free materials available if you wish to learn how to use QGIS.

Esri Free Web Courses
Esri offers some free web courses. Learn about the basics of GIS and get experience with learning some of Esri’s desktop and web-based applications.

Accessing Spatial Data Tutorial
Tutorial for learning about spatial data, its usefulness, accessibility and the national infrastructure (NSDI) which supports it.

Geographic Information Systems
Created by the USGS, this website features information about what a GIS is and the history of GIS.