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added a note about labels
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Joe Germuska
Joe Germuska
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I think when you refer toThe shading of shapes on a "shaded"GIS map, you are talking about is a choropleth map. The thing aboutdesign choice; it's not a characteristic of the shading is that you can use different data. Not all choropleth maps are opaque, andeven if some that would result in different valuesyou've seen are. A designer made that choice.

Also, note that ZIP codes are not geographiesIn Google Earth, so there is nothing that you can use which is closerapply styles to a map of ZIP codes thanlayer using the TIGER files"Edit > Get Info" command. This is coveredOn that, choose the "Style, Color" tab and change the color and opacity in slightly more detailthe "Area" section. Getting labels like on http://www.usnaviguide.com/zip.htm is not something I know how to do in Google Earth.

Note that I find that this answerfile you pointed to at filosophy.org to be "very laggy." I think that happens when you have over 50,000 features (shapes).

(edited in response to comment thread; comments may now seem unrelated)

I think when you refer to a "shaded" map, you are talking about a choropleth map. The thing about the shading is that you can use different data, and that would result in different values.

Also, note that ZIP codes are not geographies, so there is nothing that you can use which is closer to a map of ZIP codes than the TIGER files. This is covered in slightly more detail in this answer.

The shading of shapes on a GIS map is a design choice; it's not a characteristic of the data. Not all choropleth maps are opaque, even if some that you've seen are. A designer made that choice.

In Google Earth, you can apply styles to a layer using the "Edit > Get Info" command. On that, choose the "Style, Color" tab and change the color and opacity in the "Area" section. Getting labels like on http://www.usnaviguide.com/zip.htm is not something I know how to do in Google Earth.

Note that I find that file you pointed to at filosophy.org to be "very laggy." I think that happens when you have over 50,000 features (shapes).

(edited in response to comment thread; comments may now seem unrelated)

Source Link
Joe Germuska
Joe Germuska
  • 5.5k
  • 21
  • 46

I think when you refer to a "shaded" map, you are talking about a choropleth map. The thing about the shading is that you can use different data, and that would result in different values.

Also, note that ZIP codes are not geographies, so there is nothing that you can use which is closer to a map of ZIP codes than the TIGER files. This is covered in slightly more detail in this answer.