Beginner GIS Resources

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Here are a few resources for folks who are new to GIS and are interested in developing their skills: 

Tutorials

• Esri has a great set of entry-level ArcGIS Pro quick-start tutorials here 
• They also offer a full academy of paid and unpaid courses 
• Kevin McManigal, a retired lecturer out of University of Montana, has a fantastic series of YouTube videos on a variety of topics in Arc. Many of these are focused on cartography.

Cartography

In addition to providing inspiring examples of their cartographic work, many of these people have shared tutorials and other instructions on how they create their maps. Send us your own page or links to others you have found helpful. Many of these people also have YouTube channels. Just search YouTube by their name if there is no direct link.

• Heather Smith website and Esri account 
• Sarah Bell maps
• John Nelson
• Daniel Huffman
• Kenneth Field
• ArcGIS for Adobe Creative Cloud (interface between ArcGIS and Illustrator for cartography)

Data

• Project Linework - Generalized boundaries and other data for small scale maps.
• Natural Earth - Data and other helpful resources for mapping of large regions.
• Shaded Relief- Data and tutorials for working with elevation data to produce shaded relief maps. Much more than just data!
• The National Map Download site - Clearinghouse for USGS and other national mapping data.
• ESRI Living Atlas of the World - Source of curated geospatial data from around the world. Includes some ESRI subscriber content, but most of the data and tools are freely accessible.