This map gives a visual representation of the Asian population in the United States by density in the year 2000. The dark pink areas, areas with the highest Asian population density, tend to be in counties with large cities. Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York City all show up in dark pink on the map. The lightest pink areas tend to be in Wyoming, Montana, and Nevada. Wyoming and Nevada are not heavily populated areas to begin with, and makes sense that they would be light pink. The light pink areas of Nevada are also not heavily populated.
This map is a visual representation of the Asian population in the United States as a percentage of the county in the year 2000. There are many counties in the Midwestern United States that have no values for an Asian population percentage, meaning that none or very few Asians live in those counties at all. Similar to the population density map, counties with the country's largest cities have a higher percentage of Asians living inside it.
This is a visual representation of counties with an Asian population greater than 25% as of the year 2000. Only two counties in the continental United States meet this criteria: San Francisco County and Santa Clara County. The cities of San Francisco and San Jose are within the borders of these two counties. These two counties have historically had a high Asian population due to migration patterns.
This is a visual representation of the Black population in the year 2000 by population density. Similar to the Asian population maps, the areas with the highest density (dark blue) are around the country's largest cities. Chicago, New York City, Detroit and Los Angeles all show up as dark blue. The Midwestern United States and Idaho, Wyoming, Montana Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Oregon all have very low rates for Black population density.
This is a visual representation of the percentage of Black population by county in the year 2000. Counties with the percentage of Black population are in the southeastern United States, namely Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and up to Virginia. The rest of the United States pales (or blues) in comparison to these percentage numbers, even in the big cities. There are even a few counties in the Midwestern counties where there is no data at all. Even entire states are a dark blue (Montana), meaning there is less than a .01% Black percentage across the entire state. Reno, Las Vegas, and San Bernardino and Alameda Counties are the only areas in the western United States that are not some varying shade of blue, and are green instead.
This is a visual representation of counties with Black population greater than 25% in the year 2000. The southeastern United States from Louisiana up to Virgina are all a rose color representing this. There are pockets in the Northern United States with this same rose color, including Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. This reflects the history of the Black population in the United States dating back to slavery, and then the migration to the North to big cities to look for better jobs and less racial discrimination.
This is a visual representation of counties with a Some Other Race Population above 25% in the year 2000. All of the dark pink areas which represent above 25% are west of the Mississippi River. The majority of them are also in Texas and California, with one pocket in eastern Washington. My first guess is that these may be people of Native American descent answering the Census in this manner. My second guess is that it may be Hispanic/Latino people answering the Census instead of choosing 'White' as their race. However, we will never know why these people answered in the way they did.
This is a visual representation of counties across the continental United States that have Black, Asian or Some Other Race population greater than 25%. The southeastern and southwestern United States, with some pockets in the north, are the parts of the United States that fit these criteria. It does not seem there is any pattern when Black, Asian and Some Other Race are put together on one map. The only pattern is that they tend to be in the southern United States, which may be just a question of weather preference, a result of racial discrimination, or history. The map tells too little and I personally do not know.
My map series has taught me a lot about the distribution of races across the continental United States. Some patterns fit with historical facts, and some do not. I feel this map can help me understand electoral patterns in regards to race, income patterns in regard to race, and other demographic data that can make a difference when analyzed.
At the end of this exercise, I realize the GIS tests a person's patience skills more than computer skills. Simple mistakes can make an image look sloppy, and it takes a patient soul in order to go back and do everything all over again to get it just right rather than just letting things look the way they are. The attention to detail does not take away from the joy it produces, however. When I look at these maps and see how colorful and how informative they are, I know that it was a product of my blood, sweat and tears. GIS is only as useful as the person at they keyboard makes it out to be. Manipulating data is the most eye-opening part of GIS as it can solve urban planning issues, ethnic tension issues, and every other issue under the sun. I hope to continue working with GIS in this manner.
