Basic GIS 1 (CUDE6011)

Map Projection and Coordinate

Systems
UECCM, UIPM, ULDM, UMMP, UPD,TPM, UHPM
PVAM – Semester 1

Week 3

Ethiopian Civil Service University

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 Session Objectives
 At the end of the session, Participants will be
able to:
 Understand the importance of map projections and
coordinate systems in GIS

 Apply GIS technique of map projection and

transformation

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 Presentation Outline
● Map Projection
 Choosing a Map Projection
 Types of Map Projection
 The Aspect of Projection
 Classification of Map Projections

● Coordinate Systems
 Geographic Coordinate System
 Cartesian Coordinate System
 Universal Transverse Mercator
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 Map Projection
 Map projection: Portrays a three-dimensional object,
such as the Earth’s globe, in a two-dimensional format

 Distortions: shapes, area, distances and directions

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 Choosing a Map Projection
 Considerations:
Desired properties to exhibit
Purpose of the application
Determine features to be preserved
Features that can be compromised

 Four important properties to be considered:

area, shape, distance, and angles
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 Types of Map Projection
 Three distinct types
of projections:

Conic

Cylindrical

Planar

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 The Aspect of Projection
 Four predominant types of projection aspects

Normal Aspect Traverse Aspect

Oblique Aspect Polar Aspect

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 Classification of Map Projections
 Four primary projection classifications

Equal-Area
Equidistant

Azimuthal
Conformal

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 Coordinate System
 A coordinate system is the reference system upon
which coordinates are defined

 A coordinate is a number set that denotes a specific

location within a reference system
 x-y set ([x, y]) in a two-dimensional system
 x-y-z set ([x, y, z]) in a three-dimensional system

 Planar systems have x and y-axes, while three-

dimensional systems have an additional z-axis for
height
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 Coordinate System…
 Some of the coordinate systems include:

 Earth-based Geographic Coordinate System

 Vector-based Cartesian Coordinate Systems

 Zone-based Universal Transverse Mercator

 4.U.S.-based State Plane Coordinate System

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 Geographic Coordinate System
 Geographic Coordinate System: is a three
dimensional positional reference that utilizes
latitude, longitude, and ellipsoidal height

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 Cartesian Coordinate System
 Cartesian System: is a reference structure in
which point positions are measured along
intersecting planes in two and three dimensions

2Dimension 3Dimension
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 Universal Transverse Mercator
 UTM Coordinate System: is set upon a zoned grid,
which divides the Earth into 60 equal zones that
are all 6° wide in longitude (east-west)
- Ethiopia is situated in
the UTM Zones of 36,
37 & 38
- The Conventional UTM
Projection Parameter
for Ethiopia is Adindan
UTM Zone 36N, 37N or
38N respective to the
Zones.
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…Ethiopian Case Geographic Coordinate System:
GCS_Adindan
Earth's Surface & Datums Angular Unit: Degree
Prime Meridian: Greenwich (0.0)
Datum: D_Adindan
Spheroid: Clarke_1880_RGS
Semimajor Axis: 6378249.145
Semiminor Axis: 6356514.869
Inverse Flattening: 293.465

Projected coordinate system:

Adindan_UTM_Zone_37N
Projection:
(Clarke_1880) Datum Transverse_Mercator
Applicable Geographic false_easting: 500000.0
coordinate system false_northing: 0.0
central_meridian: 39.0
GCS Name Area of Use Latitude
Range scale_factor: 0.9996
GCS_Adindan Eritrea, 3.410 - 22.230 latitude_of_origin: 0.0
Ethiopia, South
Linear Unit: Meter (1.0)
Sudan Longitude
and Sudan Range
1 21.830 - 47.990
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 Some References
● Demers, Michael N.  1996.  Fundamentals of Geographic
Information Systems.  John Wiley & Sons. 
● Laurini,Robertand Derek Thompson.  1992.  Fundamentals of
Spatial Information Systems. Academic Press Limited
● Huxhold, William E.  1991.  An introduction to urban geographic
information systems.  New York:  Oxford University Press
● Maguire, David J., Michael Goodchild, and David W. Rhind,
Editors.  1991.  Geographic Information Systems:  Principles and
Applications.  Longman
● Tekaligin Z and Andualem A (2012). Applied GIS: Theories and
Practice. Module Handbook , ESCU
● Watson, David F.  1992.  Contouring: A Guide to the Analysis and
Display of Spatial Data. Pergamon Press.   
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 Comments/Questions

Thank you!

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