Learn QGIS

Now that you've soaked up all the foundational knowledge from this site, the next step is to go deeper by learning how to use QGIS. QGIS is a free and open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) desktop software that enables you to create, analyze, and print maps. In the exercises, we'll put what you've learned into practice by working on making our own maps!

Download QGIS

To download QGIS, start by going to https://qgis.org/download/. You may donate or skip the donation page. Next, download the installer for your operating system and choose the Long Term Release (LTR) for stability. Run the installer and accept the default settings.

Collect data for your map

Now that we have QGIS installed, you'll need some data to work with. Finding good sources for geospatial data is crucial for creating accurate and informative maps. We don't want to have misleading maps.

Below is a small collection of websites where you can find geospatial data to use in QGIS for your maps.

The United States and Canada both have open data portals that provide access to a wide range of datasets, including geographic data. Here are some examples:

• NYC Open Data
• City of San Diego Open Data Portal
• Canada Open Government Portal
• City of Victoria Open Data Portal

You may also search for "[Your Country/City] Open Data Portal" to find more data sources.

There are also crowd sourced data sources like iNaturalist that can be used for mapping species observations.

The next section will guide you through some exercises to get you started with QGIS and some example data.