Mapping the Census

This map shows the population of blacks accross continental United States. Looking at the map, it can be seen that Los Angeles county carries a huge majority of blacks. This is mostly due to the fact that Los Angeles has a big job market and many of the blacks migrate here for such opportunities. Areas in Michigan, Illinois and Florida also show a huge black population. The south in general has a lot of counties with high counts of blacks. This is mostly due to the fact that a part of American history ended up having them call that area home. But looking at this census map of 2000 and maybe comparing it with other census maps from before it will be easy to notice a trend interms of the movement of  blacks from the south to areas with more job opportunities. 

This map is meant to portray the Asian population in the continental USA. Looking at the map, it is easy to see that there is a similarity with the one above. The similarity is that Los Angeles also stands out with a very high Asian population. This could be credited to reasons such as California being the nearest mainland state to Asia, the aftermath of the Japanese Internment also the search for employment opportunities. In almost all the major cities in the United States, there is a China Town or a Korea Town. This goes to show how much the need for employment could cause a spread of a population.

This map depicts the population of whites in the continental United States. Like the other two maps above, Los Angeles stands out but not as the highest population density for whites. The map was replaced with that of people who identified themselves as some other race due to a  misunderstanding of the question in place. White populations over the years have dominated many places in America. Due to the high level of immigration, other races now claim the majority in many areas. Also, due to the fact that whites do not have as many kids as many of the other minority races, it can be seen that their majority is dying out in many places because there is the  production of less and less offspring as generations pass.


Looking at all three maps, it can be seen that California has a majority of almost all the populations. Many reasons can be given for this. This makes Los Angeles one of the most racially diversed counties in the world. Due to the fact that Los Angeles has a favorable weather, such can also be explained. It can be seen that large cities also have high populations of many of the races and like it has been explained above, economic reasons account for such a trend.


GIS is one of the coolest applications there is. Even though I haven't had a complete mastery of the software, I already find it useful and interesting. There is so much I learned from GIS that makes it unique. The labs and assignments in GIS were usually very difficult for me and sometimes frustrating but I'm pretty sure that with time, I will have a mastery of the software and I'm excited to be an expert.