Course data sources
The course uses data from several parts of the world: Ireland, a state of the United States, Rwanda, the Yukon and Maui. The data for each place are published by the agency or organisation that made them. This page lists every layer the lessons ask you to add, and the base data behind the book's own maps: what each layer is, who publishes it, what the course does with it and the licence as the publisher states it. The licences were read on the publishers' pages in September 2026; publishers can change them, so the licence on a layer's own item page takes precedence. The Where to find it column gives each layer's ArcGIS Online item id, or its service or download address, with the data version or period where the course's registry records one; the ids and addresses were copied on 16 October 2026 from the course's data registry (and, for the rows the book alone uses, from the book's source ledger), and where the book's own figures use a substitute dataset, the Figure credits page names it.
A few lesson layers have licences that prevent their use in the book's pictures. The Big River Watch surveys in Modules 1 and 2 are shared under a ShareAlike licence, and the Vivid 2022 imagery in Modules 10 and 11 may not be used for profit or fee. The lessons use both layers in your own project, but the book does not print them. Where a lesson layer could not be used in a picture, the book's maps use public or openly licensed data instead, credited under each figure and on the Figure credits page.
Layers from Esri's ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World and Esri's other reference layers are used under Esri's terms of use (the Esri Master License Agreement), the same terms under which ArcGIS Pro accesses them. Two Module 8 services need you to be signed in to ArcGIS; every other layer here is public.
Ireland — Modules 1–3
The first three modules use Irish data: river basins, the rivers inside them and the citizen scientists who survey them, then land cover mapped from satellite imagery. Module 3 adds world reference layers for its maps of the whole Earth. The rivers and the surveys are added to your map from two small copies that the course hosts publicly on ArcGIS Online, so that they draw quickly and do not change from week to week; each is listed below beside the original it was made from, and keeps the original's licence.
| Layer | Publisher | Where to find it | What the course uses it for | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrometric Areas Ireland & Northern Ireland (the river basins) | Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland), with the Northern Ireland hydrological agencies; published on ArcGIS Online by Esri Ireland | item f82f9b52b88b4b4c9dea75c86d732eb3 | Module 1, lesson 3: the first layer added from the Living Atlas, and the first attribute table. The basins in the Irish maps of Chapters 1–3 | Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 ("for public use") |
| Rivers Network of Ireland | Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland); in the ArcGIS Living Atlas through Esri Ireland | item aaa9a7087b6845e9abe54d266117d013 | The original of the course's rivers copy. Module 2, lesson 4: the Living Atlas item whose owner and metadata you read. The rivers in Chapters 1–3 | Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 ("for public use") |
| Rivers of Ireland (Waldo Learning) | The course, derived from the Rivers Network of Ireland: the 22,856 segments of stream order 3 and up (of 102,108), simplified to 10 m. Credit: Environmental Protection Agency, via Esri Ireland | Course-hosted copy of the Rivers Network of Ireland, made 2026-10-15; item 827dd08cdd544695a1efc5e741c85672 | Module 1, lesson 4: rivers added by URL; Module 2: the line layer whose vertices you zoom in to see | Creative Commons CC BY 4.0, as the original |
| The Big River Watch (river surveys) | The Rivers Trust, from surveys by citizen scientists | item cb49c4d15ecc40a5b290c3d40dae5970; a live layer that keeps growing | The original of the course's survey copy: a live layer of about 20,000 surveys from Ireland and Britain that grows every week. Not in the book's figures | Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0) |
| Big River Watch surveys – Ireland (Waldo Learning) | The course, derived from The Big River Watch: the 1,817 surveys inside the island's river basins, Ireland and Northern Ireland, without photo attachments. Credit: The Rivers Trust | Course-hosted copy of The Big River Watch, a snapshot of 2026-10-15; item aeebf39126c64fd982f19a5f44255b85 | Module 1, lesson 4, and Module 2: points to add, export and question about who made them. Not in the book's figures | Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0), as the original |
| Sentinel-2 10m Land Use/Land Cover Time Series | Esri and Impact Observatory, with Microsoft; ArcGIS Living Atlas | item cfcb7609de5f478eb7666240902d4d3d; a time series, 2017–2025 | Module 2, lesson 2: the first raster, zoomed in until its cells show; lesson 4: a full Metadata tab. The land cover in Chapters 1 and 2 | Esri Master License Agreement; the source land-cover data CC BY 4.0 |
| World Countries (Generalized) | Esri (sources: Garmin International; U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook; National Geographic Society); ArcGIS Living Atlas | item 2b93b06dc0dc4e809d3c8db5cb96ba69 | Module 3, lesson 3: the countries in the projection-gallery pictures. The world maps in Chapters 0 and 3 | Esri Master License Agreement |
| Firefly Grid Lines v2 (a graticule) | Esri (John Nelson); ArcGIS Living Atlas | item 7b19a92d0c984a4da2e06889c2b4ea89 | Module 3, lesson 2: lines of latitude and longitude drawn on the map | Esri Master License Agreement |
| World UTM Grid | Esri (sources: U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency); ArcGIS Online | item b294795270aa4fb3bd25286bf09edc51 | Module 3, lesson 4: finding the UTM zone Galway falls in. The zone map in Chapter 3 | Esri Master License Agreement |
| USA State Plane Zones NAD 1983 | Esri (source: NOAA); ArcGIS Living Atlas | item 23178a639bdc4d658816b3ea8ee6c3ae | Module 3, lesson 4: an optional look at the zones for learners in the United States | Esri Master License Agreement |
A US state, Virginia as the worked example — Module 4
Module 4 makes a finished map of one state, the learner's choice; the lessons and the book use Virginia as the worked example. Each layer is national and is filtered to the state with a definition query.
| Layer | Publisher | Where to find it | What the course uses it for | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA Counties Generalized Boundaries | Esri, from U.S. Census Bureau data; ArcGIS Living Atlas | item 3c164274a80748dda926a046525da610; 2020 census population | Module 4: the county choropleth, its classification and labels. The Virginia maps in Chapter 4 | Esri Master License Agreement |
| USA Major Cities | Esri, from U.S. Census Bureau data; ArcGIS Living Atlas | item 9df5e769bfe8412b8de36a2e618c7672 | Module 4: point symbols and city labels. The reference and design maps in Chapter 4 | Esri Master License Agreement |
| North American Rail Network Lines | Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Federal Railroad Administration; ArcGIS Living Atlas | item feb7060cb7ba49ba94e53651fec963b9; National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) | Module 4: a line layer with a distinctive railroad symbol. The railroads in Chapter 4 | A U.S. government work, "available for unrestricted public use" (public domain) |
| Cartographic boundary files, 2023 (state outlines at three scales) | U.S. Census Bureau | 2023 files cb_2023_us_state_500k, _5m and _20m, from www2.census.gov, GENZ2023 |
The book only: the generalisation figure in Chapter 4 | Public domain |
Rwanda — Modules 5–6
Modules 5 and 6 work with Rwanda's 416 sectors and its census, both published by the country's statistics office. Module 6 also uses data from London in 1854, where John Snow mapped a cholera outbreak.
| Layer | Publisher | Where to find it | What the course uses it for | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sector Boundary 2022 | National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) | item ded3c363069f4dd2b11275e2510f4ddd; 2022 boundaries | Modules 5 and 6: the sectors whose table you explore, calculate and join. The maps and tables in Chapters 5 and 6 | "Public access and no constraints" |
| population_count (census table) | National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) | item 445bf6f37cb648318a52088dc620ba91; the 2002, 2012 and 2022 censuses | Module 5: a standalone table of the 2002, 2012 and 2022 censuses, joined to the sectors. Chapters 5 and 6 | No licence text on the item itself; published on NISR's open-data hub beside the sector boundaries |
| Health_Establishments_hospital | National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) | item 4840f443228b4052bca41513911f7f3f; from the 2022 census mapping | Module 6, lesson 3: selecting sectors by their distance from a hospital. Chapter 6 | "Public access and no constraints" |
| Cholera Cases (London, 1854) | Esri Tutorials, digitised from John Snow's map | item f39a169103da4149ae577ccceec9d125; the deaths of 1854 | Module 6, lesson 1: the deaths at each address, looked at and summed. Chapter 6 | "Digitized from a map that is in the public domain" |
| Water Pumps (London, 1854) | Esri Tutorials, digitised from John Snow's map | item edd427fecaa242a689b74d7e470fa821 | Module 6, lesson 1: the pumps, the Broad Street pump among them. Chapter 6 | "Digitized from a map that is in the public domain" |
| Snow cholera map image | Esri Tutorials: a georeferenced scan of John Snow's 1855 map (lithograph by C. F. Cheffins) | item 0f74f92ada58401bba2c593bd4ca593f; the map of 1855 | Module 6, lesson 1: the original map under the two point layers. The opening map of Chapter 6 | "This image is in the public domain" |
Whitehorse, Yukon — Modules 7–8
Module 7's vector analysis uses the Government of Yukon's GeoYukon services, all in one projected coordinate system measured in metres. In the table, a GeoYukon layer is given by its map service and layer number under https://mapservices.gov.yk.ca/arcgis/rest/services/GeoYukon/ (Municipal Boundaries, for example, is GY_LandPlanning/MapServer/6). Module 8 uses the same place and adds three public rasters. In the book's elevation and imagery figures, openly licensed national data are used in place of the two Module 8 services that need a sign-in.
| Layer | Publisher | Where to find it | What the course uses it for | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal Boundaries | Government of Yukon (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_LandPlanning map service, layer 6 |
Module 7, lesson 1: the Whitehorse city limits, the study area of both modules. Chapters 7 and 8 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| NG911 Hydrology – Line – Whitehorse (streams) | Government of Yukon (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_EmergencyManagement map service, layer 36 |
Module 7, lesson 1: stream setbacks by buffer. Chapter 7 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| Health care facilities | Government of Yukon (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_PeopleStructures map service, layer 0 |
Module 7, lesson 1: rings around the hospital. Chapter 7 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| Bedrock Geology | Government of Yukon, Yukon Geological Survey (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_Geological map service, layer 113 |
Module 7, lessons 2, 3 and 5: clip, overlay, dissolve and spatial join. Chapter 7 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| Water Wells | Government of Yukon (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_EnvironmentalMonitoring map service, layer 17 |
Module 7, lessons 2 and 5: clipped to the city, joined to geology and counted by subdivision; Module 8 reads elevations at the wells. Chapter 7 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| NG911 Hydrology – Polygon – Whitehorse (lakes, wetlands, rivers) | Government of Yukon (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_EmergencyManagement map service, layer 35 |
Module 7, lessons 2–4: erase, union and the campground search. Chapter 7 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| NG911 Subdivisions – Whitehorse | Government of Yukon (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_EmergencyManagement map service, layer 27 |
Module 7, lessons 3 and 5: intersect, and counting wells per subdivision. Chapter 7 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| NG911 Roads – Whitehorse | Government of Yukon (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_EmergencyManagement map service, layer 29 |
Module 7, lesson 4: the campground search. Chapter 7 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| Land Parcels – Surveyed | Government of Yukon (GeoYukon) | GeoYukon GY_LandTenure map service, layer 27 |
Module 7, lesson 4: land already taken, erased from the campground search. Chapter 7 | Open Government Licence – Yukon |
| Terrain (elevation) | Esri; ArcGIS Living Atlas | item 58a541efc59545e6b7137f961d7de883 | Module 8: the elevation raster the lessons make for Whitehorse. Needs an ArcGIS sign-in; not in the book's figures | Esri Master License Agreement |
| North America Land Cover 2020 30m | Commission for Environmental Cooperation, North American Land Change Monitoring System (CCRS, USGS, CONABIO, CONAFOR, INEGI) | item e0ff7c071cb740409c7fe01f63f4fef8; land cover of 2020, edition 2.0 | Module 8: land-cover classes, reclassification and the habitat model. Chapter 8 | Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 |
| Multispectral Landsat | Esri, from U.S. Geological Survey Landsat imagery; ArcGIS Living Atlas | item d9b466d6a9e647ce8d1dd5fe12eb434b | Module 8: band combinations. Needs an ArcGIS sign-in; not in the book's figures | Esri Master License Agreement |
| Medium Resolution Digital Elevation Model (MRDEM) | Natural Resources Canada | MRDEM-30; open.canada.ca dataset 18752265-bda3-498c-a4ba-9dfe68cb98da | The book only: every elevation figure in Chapter 8, in place of Terrain | Open Government Licence – Canada; contains Copernicus WorldDEM-30 (© DLR e.V. and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA) |
| Landsat 9 scene, 5 August 2024 (Collection 2, Level-2) | U.S. Geological Survey, read from Microsoft Planetary Computer's copy | Scene LC09_L2SP_059017_20240805, Planetary Computer collection landsat-c2-l2; product doi.org/10.5066/P9OGBGM6 |
The book only: the band-combination figure in Chapter 8, in place of Multispectral Landsat | Public domain |
Maui, Hawaiʻi — Modules 9–11
The last three modules use data from Maui. Module 9's layers come from the Hawaii Statewide GIS Program, whose State of Hawaii Terms of Use place the contents in the public domain, with no warranty. Where the table gives a Hawaii service rather than an item, the path is under https://geodata.hawaii.gov/arcgis/rest/services/ (the coastline, for example, is Terrestrial/MapServer/3). Module 10 traces the Haleakalā summit on aerial imagery, and Module 11 shows the same summit as a 3D scene. Module 11's final map uses layers from any of the places above, or your own.
| Layer | Publisher | Where to find it | What the course uses it for | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastline | Hawaii Statewide GIS Program, from U.S. Geological Survey data | Hawaii Terrestrial map service, layer 3 |
Module 9, lesson 1: Maui as the study area. The maps of Chapter 9 | State of Hawaii Terms of Use: public domain |
| Rain Gauges | Hawaii Statewide GIS Program; data from the Rainfall Atlas of Hawaiʻi, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Geography | item ed0eca4ac4554febb86e0df2d30c59df; the 2011 Rainfall Atlas of Hawaiʻi | Module 9, lessons 1–3: Tobler's law, Thiessen polygons and IDW interpolation. Chapter 9 | State of Hawaii Terms of Use: public domain |
| Annual Rainfall (millimeters) (isohyets) | Hawaii Statewide GIS Program; from the Online Rainfall Atlas of Hawaiʻi (Giambelluca et al., 2013) | Hawaii Climate map service, layer 26 |
Module 9, lesson 3: a reference map to compare the interpolated surface with. Chapter 9 | State of Hawaii Terms of Use: public domain |
| HCPT Cesspools | Hawaii Statewide GIS Program; Hawaii Cesspool Prioritization Tool (2022), UH Water Research Center | item 7a57005f120b4027977d9cdcb9451ea7; the tool's 2022 data | Module 9, lesson 4: kernel density. Chapter 9 | State of Hawaii Terms of Use: public domain |
| Vivid 2022 (aerial imagery) | Hawaii Statewide GIS Program; USDA Farm Production and Conservation Business Center; imagery by Maxar, licensed to the USDA | Hawaii image service SoH_Imagery/Vivid_2022; 2022 imagery, 0.6 m cells |
Module 10: tracing roads and roofs at the Haleakalā summit; Module 11, lessons 1 and 2: the picture draped on the scene. Viewed live only; not in the book's figures | The metadata prohibits use of the product for commercial purposes, "for profit or fee" |
| USGS 10 m DEM (State of Hawaii copy) | U.S. Geological Survey, served by the Hawaii Statewide GIS Program | Hawaii image service SoH_Imagery/USGS_10m_DEM_Elevation |
Module 11, lesson 1: the elevation check at the summit. The relief in Chapter 10 and the ground in Chapter 11's figures | Public domain |
| USA Structures (building footprints) | Oak Ridge National Laboratory and FEMA Geospatial Response Office; on ArcGIS Online through Esri US Federal Data | item 0ec8512ad21e4bb987d7e848d14e7e24; the summit footprints traced from 2017 imagery | Module 11, lessons 1 and 2: the summit buildings, extruded in the scene. Chapter 11 | Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 |
World base data for the book's figures
Two world datasets are used only in the book's own figures.
| Layer | Publisher | Where to find it | What the book uses it for | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Earth (land, coastlines, towns) | Natural Earth | naturalearthdata.com, Downloads page | The globes, world maps and town points in Chapters 2, 3 and 11 | Public domain |
| EGM96 geoid heights | U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency | The 15′ grid us_nga_egm96_15.tif from PROJ-data |
The geoid map in Chapter 3 | Public domain |