Web-based mapping information

Site number 1:  General Russian River site.
Site number 2:  Dutch Bill Creek watershed site.
Site number 3:  Easy-to-use four button site ("Simple restoration mapping").

Site explanations and additional information:

The RRIIS currently has 3 web-based mapping sites that help users to investigate and understand their watersheds using spatial data.  This page provides a description of the three sites so that the user can understand the sites before they start using them.  These web-based mapping sites have been built with ESRI's ArcIMS software, and work best with Internet Explorer 5.5 or later and Netscape 7.0 or later.  A preliminary help image is available to explain the layout of the ArcIMS sites, and the RRIIS also has more information on spatial data and GIS mapping.

Site number 1:  General Russian River site.
    This site provides a large number of spatial or "GIS" (Geographic Information Systems) data layers, most of which cover the entire Russian River basin.  It uses the standard RRIIS ArcIMS interface with a full suite of tools and data layers.  Users can zoom in on their particular areas of interest and identify features, print maps, and load and unload multiple data layers.  The data layers include standard base layers in the "Geography"folder, field data, locations of restoration projects, imagery (such as digital orthophotos and USGS topographic maps), and spatial data from local watershed groups.

Site number 2:  Dutch Bill Creek watershed site.
    This site is an example of how spatial data can be displayed for a single watershed, the Dutch Bill Creek watershed.  It highlights some data layers from the Dutch Bill Creek watershed group, and uses the standard RRIIS ArcIMS interface.  Due to the time involved in creating and maintaining web-based mapping sites for invididual watersheds, the RRIIS development team is now focusing on improving the general Russian River site and the easy-to-use four-button site.  The goal is that users will visit one of these basin-wide sites and then zoom in to their watershed.  The development team is also planning on adding tools that will make it easier for users to zoom in on their watershed.

Site number 3:  Easy-to-use four button site ("Simple restoration mapping").
    This site has four buttons that provide easy access to different views of data relating to restoration, salmonid distribution, salmonid habitat, and background watershed information.  It is intended to provide the non-expert or beginning user a simple way to investigate spatial data related to their watersheds and the whole basin.  This site users a simplied version of the RRIIS ArcIMS interface.  More information about the four data subjects is available.


Users who are interested in learning more about web-based mapping, GIS, and spatial data may be interested in the following links:
The list of GIS data available for download from the RRIIS (with metadata).
GIS.com, information about GIS.
ESRI, makers of the ArcIMS web-mapping software and other GIS software.
ArcIMS, used to build the RRIIS web-mapping sites.
MapServer, an open-source alternative to ArcIMS.
Freegis.org, information about free and low-cost GIS software.
Opengis.org, the open GIS consortium.
Federal Geographic Data Committee, standards for metadata.
GIS Glossary (GIS Dictionary).
The California Spatial Information Library.
GIS data links for northern California.