Lab #7-Census

The first map shown here conveys the information of counties with a black alone population greater than zero. This population density map is concluded from the 2000 Census data collected.  This information was ranked by percent in order to show the relative information in a way that allows you to see where majority of the black population lives within the United States. As shown by the map, it can be noted that most of the black population is congregated in the South-East states of the United States. The way that this can be concluded is through the gradient scale of colors, where the darker colors (browns) represent where the higher percentage of the black population resides. Therefore, the lighter yellow colors indicate that a large percentage of the black population does not reside in other parts of the country other than the South-East states, some in the West in lower California, and in some areas in the North-East states.

The second image illustrated is a map revealing the Asian population density in the United States, as concluded from the 2000 Census data collected. The darker purples depict the highest percentage of where Asian people reside in the United States, which can be shown mainly on the West Coast in California. Other counties where there is a considerable amount of the Asian population is on the East coast near New York and in the North-Western counties of Washington. In addition, it can be revealed that there are other places where this race resides throughout the United States; however, it is more scattered and there is not as much of a density as the other areas. Similar to the previous map and the one following, the color ramp chosen makes it easier for the audience to comprehend the distribution in which the densely populated counties (darker colors) are compared to the not as densely populated counties (lighter colors).

The last map shown here is an illustration of the white population density in the United States as shown through the data collected in the 2000 Census. This gradient scale chosen goes from dark blue to green to yellow. The reason for this color ramp chosen is to show the more even distribution of the white population throughout the counties compared to the black or Asian populations which are more congregated into certain areas. While there is a significantly large percentage of the white population in the Northern States as shown through the dark blue, it can be recognized that there is a considerable amount of the white population all throughout the other counties, except for in some counties above and to the left of Texas and other counties in the South-east states.

These three map projections reveal the ways in which we are able to convey to an audience where particular races reside throughout our country. These images allow for a more comprehensive understanding of where exactly these percentages are denser than other areas. Through this visualization it creates a more simplistic approach in attempting to reveal how a particular race is distributed rather than explaining it through words. The images allow for a clear cut representation, rather than a description that can become convoluted if the audience has poor knowledge of geography. In conclusion, these maps are a great resource in understanding population density for any person to comprehend.