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Tip

This tutorial was expanded and adapted from Thomas, R.. (2008). In Time and Place, "Dust Bowl." Retrieved October 5, 2010, from In Time and Place: http://www.intimeandplace.org/Dust%20Bowl/index.html.

Thomas' focus is in teaching GIS skills. Many humanities and social sciences instructors may want to use these excellent resources, but feel that teaching GIS to students is outside the scope of their curriculum. This ArcGIS Explorer Desktop adaptation of the Dust Bowl unit is meant to aid instructors who do not have access to ArcGIS software or who might not have the time to teach GIS skills in the classroom. All original files for the tutorial are included in a link on this page. Original versions of files (shapefiles, raster files, and ArcMap files) on which the layer files for this tutorial were based can be found under the link for the Dust Bowl GIS files at the original site.

Other tutorials using GIS for American History, including units on The Great Migration, Japanese Internment during World War II, and others can be found at In Time and Place.org.

Table of Contents

Install ArcGIS Explorer Desktop

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Info

All files, including copies of Rick Thomas' original GIS files, have been included in the package for this tutorial. Layer files (all files with the .lyr file extension) were created by Krista White, GIS Support Specialist, Drew University. All other files were created by Rick Thomas. Thomas' original files are included because they serve as a source for the Layer Files (.lyr files)used by ArcGIS Explorer. Some original files have had a spatial reference added to them for the purpose of creating the Layer Files.

  1. To find files for this tutorial, go to https://depts.drew.edu/envstudies/GIS Tutorials/Dust Bowl.zipDownload the zipped tutorial files at: Dust Bowl.zip. Be aware that the zipped package is approximately 41MB, so please allow sufficient time and memory space on your computer for download.
  2. A dialog box will appear titled, "Opening Dust Bowl.zip." Save the file to your computer's Desktop.
  3. Navigate to the desktop of your computer and unzip the file. To do this, right click on the Dust Bowl.zip folder. (click image to enlarge)



  4. Choose Extract All. The Windows Extraction Wizard will appear.
  5. Click Next. Make sure that the field under "Files will be extracted to this directory" points to your computer's desktop. (click image to enlarge)



  6. If it does not point to your computer's Desktop, click the Browse button. The select a destination dialog box will appear.
  7. Choose the Desktop option that appears at the very top of the window in the dialog box. You may need to use the scroll bar on the right hand side of the window to see the Desktop Option. (click image to enlarge)



  8. Click OK.
  9. Once this field points to your computer's Desktop, click Next. Windows will unzip the file and tell you that the extraction is complete.
  10. During the unzipping process, you may get a dialog box asking you to replace a file: (click image to enlarge)

    Image Added

    This action attempts to replace an older file with an existing new file. Click the No button to prevent the replacement of the newer file.
  11. Click the Finish button.

Getting Started with ArcGIS Explorer Desktop

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  1. In ArcGIS Explorer, click on the Add Content button in the Map group of the Home tab.
  2. Click ArcGIS Layers. An Open dialog box will appear. (click image to enlarge)




  3. Find the Dust Bowl folder on your computer's desktop.
  4. Add files in the following order:
    1. APR4YRAVT – Question 3 (April average temperatures for the year s1930-1934)
    2. MAR4YRAVT-- Question 3 (March average temperatures for the year s1930-1934)
    3. FEB4YRAVT-- Question 3 (February average temperatures for the year s1930-1934)
    4. JAN4YRAVT-- Question 3 (January average temperatures for the year s1930-1934)
    5. APR35AVT-- Question 3 (Monthly average temperatures for April of 1935)
    6. MAR35AVT-- Question 3 (Monthly average temperatures for March of 1935)
    7. FEB35AVT-- Question 3 (Monthly average temperatures for February of 1935)
    8. JAN35AVT-- Question 3 (Monthly average temperatures for January of 1935)
    9. WINTSPR35 – Question 2 (Average total rainfall in the months January - April for the year 1935)
    10. WINTSPRAVE-- Question 2 (Average total rainfall in the months January - April for the years 1930-1934)
Raster Data:
  1. Click on the Add Content button in the Map group of the Home tab.
  2. Choose Raster Data.... An Open dialog box will appear.
  3. Find the Dust Bowl folder on your computer's desktop.
  4. Double click on the folder titled Files.
  5. Add the  3907_%Sandy Soil.jpg (for Question 1) file to your map by clicking on it once, then clicking the Open button. (click image to enlarge)



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  1. Click on the Add Content button in the Map group of the Home tab.
  2. Choose Raster Data.... An Open dialog box will appear.
  3. Find the Dust Bowl folder on your computer's desktop.
  4. Double click on the folder titled Files.
  5. Add files in the following order:
    1. Dust 1940-- Question 1 (Areas of most severe dust for 1940)
    2. Dust 1938-- Question 1 (Areas of most severe dust for 1938)
    3. Dust 1930-- Question 1 (Areas of most severe dust for 1930)
    4. United States – For General Reference

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