Generating Basin KMLs

by Shaun Walbridge — last modified 08-02-2007 18:35

Conversion procedure to convert our basin shapefile layers to managable KML files for use with Google Earth.

Define Projection: af_basin_n.shp as the local Lambert Equal Area Azimuthal Projection
Open af_basin_n.shp Attribute table, Create new column `area', type double
Calculate Values and check the Advanced Box:
```
Dim dblArea as double
Dim pArea as IArea
Set pArea = [shape]
dblArea = pArea.area / 1000000
```
In the result box at the bottom, type dblArea
Select By attributes: WHERE "area" < 12
Iteratively change the area value, to limit the feature count to 20,000: more features will make Google Earth intolerably slow to work with.
Right click on the layer, Data: Export Data to "af_bas_n_gt12.shp".
Define Projection: af_bas_n_gt12km.shp as the local Lambert Equal Area Azimuthal Projection
ArcToolbox: Data Management Tools: Projections and Transformations: Feature: Project
Select "af_bas_n_gt12km.shp" as the input, and "af_bas_n_gt12km_w84.shp" as the output. The output projection should be set to WGS 1984.
Copy the file to a location on the server.
From an ssh connection to the server and while in the same directory as the basins layer, type:
```
ogr2ogr -f "KML" af_basins.kml af_bas_n_gt12km_w84.shp
```
Open the KML output in Google Earth. Sweet!

Ecosystem-based Management