Here are some great resources that you can use to create free base maps, GIS viewers, image map based web map projects, and even mapservers. Click here for examples of pollution maps around the globe or here for some of the projects we have completed.
New additions January, 2008 - Archives
I'm now creating maps for Google Earth and Google Maps. Each of these includes links to metadata and you can also download the original GIS shapefile that I used to create the Google KMZ file. The first Google Earth map is of California Watersheds. Check back often - many more to come.
LookWMS by IDELIX is a Web Map Client that implements the OpenGIS WMS specification and enables users to access geospatial data from WMS servers over the Internet. Some of the interesting features of our client include: The ability to access and display information from multiple servers at the same time, for true multi-layer interaction; The ability to cache data locally to work off-line when a connection is not available and improve mobile workforce productivity; and The ability to access GeoTIFF files from your local machine or from a remote server. You can save your GeoTIFF files locally for quick reference in the future.
LookOUT - The online map connector for MS Outlook, LookOUT by IDELIX is a great new free add-in for Microsoft Outlook that streamlines your daily planning by eliminating the tedious task of copying addresses from your Outlook contacts and pasting them into an online mapping application.
Spatial Console 1.2.1 imports shapefiles to Oracle Spatial and Locator and exports to several different formats. It also enables viewing and validation of Oracle Spatial and Locator data.
SAGA - System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses- is a hybrid GIS software. The first objective of SAGA is to give (geo-)scientists an effective but easy learnable platform for the implementation of geoscientific methods, which is achieved by SAGA's unique Application Programming Interface (API). The second is to make these methods accessible in a user friendly way. This is mainly done by the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Together this results in SAGA's true strength: a fast growing set of geoscientifc methods, bundled in exchangeable Module Libraries.
Geospatial Explorer has been written to enable geologists, environmental scientists, and engineers to apply innovative science and technology to enhance and expedite the reduction of risk to human health and the environment. Geospatial Explorer permits the user to identify, understand, and solve complex environmental problems better, faster, and cheaper.
Geostatistical Analysis package that compliments Geospatial Explorer by providing an interface to the SAGE 2005 variogram reports and GSLIB 2.0 kriging and simulation executables.
sdts2d is a Translator for SDTS DEM Files The sdts2dem program translates USGS DEM files from SDTS format to "native" format. It is in the public domain and may be freely redistributed.
MapIt! is a serverside web-application for rastermaps. Navigation and points of interests are easily configured.
AGIS for Windows includes a tutorial to help you with making your own map displays has also been prepared. This is contained in an installation file called tutor158.exe which is 1,086 K in size and contains more than 70 pages.
Archives
Free Geocoding - Map Channels offers free single address and batch geocoding.
FCC - Federal Communications Commission Mapping Resources.
ArcVoyager was created by ESRI's Schools and Libraries team to go along with ArcView. It is a 50-mb package of carefully selected data, ArcView projects, and help files, in a tiered format. There are comparable Windows and Macintosh versions. The help files are written broadly to a "junior high" level, but ArcVoyager is being used effectively by elementary teachers, middle school students, high schoolers, librarians, college instructors, museum professionals, or parents. Arcview is not required.
Basins - Installation software that contains the BASINS Version 4.0 system, data download tool, full documentation in the pulldown help menu, and the tutorial project and data(HUC-02060006) is now available. BASINS 4.0 contains the installation program for an open source GIS program. At this time the only models available in BASINS 4.0 are WinHSPF and PLOAD and the tools GenScn and WDMUtil. BASINS 4.0 also contains a link to AQUATOX.
Flowmap is a software package dedicated to analyzing and displaying interaction or flow data. This type of data is special in the sense that there are two different geographic locations connected to each data item: An origin location where the flow starts and an destination location where the flow ends. The flow data itself can be people (e.g. commuters, shoppers, hospital visitors), goods, usage of agricultural services or telecommunication and so on.
GMT is an open source collection of 60 tools for manipulating geographic and Cartesian data sets (including filtering, trend fitting, gridding, projecting, etc.) and producing Encapsulated PostScript File (EPS) illustrations ranging from simple x-y plots via contour maps to artificially illuminated surfaces and 3-D perspective views. GMT supports ~30 map projections and transformations and comes with support data such as GSHHS coastlines, rivers, and political boundaries. GMT is developed and maintained by Paul Wessel and Walter H. F. Smith with help from a global set of volunteers, and is supported by the National Science Foundation. It is released under the GNU General Public License.
SPRING is a state-of-the-art GIS and remote sensing image processing system with an object-oriented data model which provides for the integration of raster and vector data representations in a single environment.
TNTlite is a free version of TNTmips, TNTedit, and TNTview for small-scale projects. TNTlite is not a demo, but a large, full-featured geospatial analysis software package. The free TNTlite product has all the features of the professional TNTmips version, except TNTlite limits the size of Project File objects.
uDig - The User-friendly Desktop Internet GIS (uDig) is both a GeoSpatial application and a platform through which developers can create new, derived applications. uDig is a core element in an internet aware Geographic Information System.
dlgv32 Pro is a limited-feature version of commercial software called Global Mapper which was created from the original dlgv32 source code. Improved to address changes in data standards and to better meet customer requirements, dlgv32 Pro continues the tradition of providing quality viewing software for USGS data users. The USGS has obtained from Global Mapper a license to freely distribute this limited-feature version.
Public Domain software for SDTS - Although these programs have been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy and functioning of the programs and related program material, nor shall the fact of distribution constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in connection therewith.
MapWindow - Uses most standard GIS data formats including shapefiles (.shp) and ASCII grid files (.asc). Data in these formats can be downloaded from many Internet sites including GIS Data Depot, USEPA, USGS and many others. MapWindow can also handle georeferenced GIF, and BMP image files.
Quantum GIS (QGIS) - A user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) that runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, and Windows. QGIS supports vector, raster, and database formats. QGIS is licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS lets you browse and create map data on your computer. It supports many common spatial data formats (e.g. ESRI ShapeFile, geotiff). QGIS supports plugins to do things like display tracks from your GPS. QGIS is Open Source software and its free of cost.
RevPG (Revision and Product Generation software) - RevPG is a collection of ARC/INFO Arc Macro Language (AML) programs, C routines, shell scripts, and interface menus that support the revision of digital line graph (DLG) data with ARC/INFO.
USGS GeoData software - USGS and non-USGS public domain software that can be used to display or manipulate USGS digital data.
Water Resources Applications software - A collection of programs and utilities that are used in research and hydrologic studies to determine the quantity, quality, and location of water resources in the United States.
USGS Formal metadata: information and software
OpenGTS - The "Open GPS Tracking System" is the first available open source project designed specifically to provide web-based GPS tracking services for a "fleet" of vehicles.
Aero-Triangulation System software - A collection of Fortran and C programs, UNIX shell scripts, and text files used to perform image coordinate refinement, block adjustment, statistical reporting, and plotting.
GeoServer - GeoServer is an Open Source server that connects your information to the Geospatial Web. You can publish and edit data using open standards. Your information is made available in a large variety of formats as maps/images or actual geospatial data..
GeoIQ is a Web services platform that enables intuitive geographic analysis and visualization capabilities in Web mapping applications. The GeoIQ Web Service is free up to a pretty generous 5,000 map requests per day, for any Web site that is freely available to the public.
ArcExplorer - "ArcExplorer is a lightweight GIS data viewer developed by ESRI. This freely available software offers an easy way to perform basic GIS functions. ArcExplorer is used for a variety of display, query, and data retrieval applications and supports a wide variety of standard data sources, including their own industry-standard shapefile format. It can be used on its own with local data sets or as a client to Internet data and map servers."
Libre Map Project - The purpose of the Libre Map Project is to aggregate and make digital maps and related GIS data available for Free - check here for free USGS DRG Topo maps of the U.S.
TatukGIS Free GIS Viewer - Reads just about every GIS/CAD vector and raster image file format and opens most ArcView, ArcExplorer, and MapInfo Professional projects, plus lots of other functionality. (Scroll to bottom of page for free viewer).
Orbit Spatial Technologies has two free products -- a GIS viewer, Orbit Explorer, and a GIS server system, EOS Lite.
Free GIS tutorial from the U.S. Fire Administration.
NRDB (Natural Resources Database) is a free database and mapping application for developing and distributing environmental databases. Its aim is to provide people in developing countries with a powerful yet simple tool to assist in the managing of their own resources.
GRASS GIS - GRASS GIS is free and runs on the following platforms: Linux, Sun Solaris, Solaris x86, Solaris SPARC, SGI Irix, HP-UX, DEC-Alpha, PowerPC, MacOS X (Darwin), IBM AIX, BSD-Unix, FreeBSD, CRAY/Unicos and other UNIX compliant platforms (32/64bit), additionally Windows NT/Cygnus.
MapWindow GIS - free, open source and programmable.
Cameo, Marplot and Aloha - free software and data used to map the dispersion of toxic chemicals and help respond to chemical emergencies. Click here for a detailed description. Includes properties and health effects of thousands of toxic chemicals and chemical warfare agents. Also available -- Marplot Maps based on the Census 2000 Redistricting TIGER/Line files.
Free Maps from U.S. Census - create a map for your city, zipcode, or enter a longitude and latitude. Easily add layers and then capture the image with PaintShop Pro or similar art program or save by right clicking on the map image.
Simple image maps and html still outshine ANY mapserver. Boutell offers MapEdit, a low cost solution (free to educational and non-profit organizations) for making image maps come alive.
Census 2000 Demographic Profiles & Redistricting Files - When you get to the Census 2000 page, click on a state for all files available.
Proximity One offers free census 2000 TIGER map files.
Proximity One provides a tool for converting Census 2000 data sets into Dbf format.
Proximity One also has an additional utility which combines the 40 item attribute data with Census 2000 geographic data to produce a combination geography/attribute shape file.
Landview VI can also be used to view the shapefiles provided above by using the SHP2MIE program provided with the LandView download.
Census 2000 TIGER/Line Data.
Add free MapCruzinTM GIS layers. Some of the many layer categories include: Environmental (Air, Land, Water), Wildlife, Hazards, Federal Lands and Transportation. Most layers are available in Maptitude, ArcView, and MapInfo formats.
HTML Imagemapper - free demo download.
GeoMedia Viewer - GeoMedia Viewer is an easy to use, FREE GIS software application for desktop viewing and distribution of geospatial data. It allows an organization to maximize the value of its geospatial data by extending availability to novice users who wouldn't otherwise have access because of the barriers of purchasing and learning how to use a full GIS software application. 
GeoExpress View - GeoExpress View has been designed so that you can make quick and efficient use of remotely sensed data. It is a robust stand-alone application employing cutting edge wavelet image compression technology that significantly speeds up zooming and panning operations. This makes loading, viewing and moving around image data quick and easy. System Requirements: Microsoft® Windows 98/ME/2000/XP or Windows NT® 4.0 with service pack 6 or greater 200MHz PC processor Minimum of 64 MB RAM.
ArcExplorer - A lightweight GIS data viewer developed by ESRI, available in windows, or Java edition. Easy to install, this is the defacto standard in viewing ArcView SHP format data. ArcExplorer is an excellent too for publishing data and developers can distribute the ArcExplorer setup and data on CDs. A simple to use GUI enables users to easily add themes from existing data sources, control theme characteristics, print your maps, zoom in/out, pan, identify map features, and display Map Tips. An online user guide (PDF) is also available.
CartoMap - A free map viewing Microsoft® Windows® comaptible software, designed for ease of use. I first came accross this product in my search for a quality Mapinfo data viewer - supports SHP and MIF data formats and provides users with the ability to pan, zoom, query, and order layers.
DLGV32Pro - This popular tool, formerly know as DLGV32 (now GlobalMapper) Supports viewing of most of the popular data formats, including DLG-O, DRG, DOQ, DEM, DXF, SDTS DLG, SDTS DEM, ECW, MrSID, ESRI Shapefiles, E00, GTOPO30, TerrainBase, ETOPO2 etc. what makes it very popular is the fact that it will support the latest DEM and SDTS DEM formats, including decimeter DEMs. Additional functionality includes Crop, reproject, and merge any combination of raster data, including DRGs. Best of all there's EXPORT SUPPORT! Free version has limited export capabilities. for any novice working with USGS data, this is a must have.
FME Universal Viewer - This nifty viwer comes included with the Safe sowtare FME evaluation download. A robust viewing tool with a simple to use interface, it supports over 100 GIS, CAD and database 
Geographic Explorer - The Geographic Explorer extends the Windows 95, 98, 2000 and NT Explorer to view and find map files. The Geographic Explorer provides a number of powerful utilities. You can explore map files directly on your desktop with the Geographic Explorer Blue Marble Geographics
GeoHawk - GeoHawk 5.2 is the latest version of the popular GeoHawk. Inexpensive yet powerful viewer with full viewing, querying, custom searches, map tips, identifying, redlining, tracing, and GPS capabilities. Intuitive GUI interface, and Multispeak compliant. Ideal field viewer. Supports Viewing ArcInfo, SHP, DXF, and DWG GIS formats as well as a number of common image formats.
Geomatica FreeView - FreeView allows the viewing, enhancing, and examination of remotely sensed imagery such as LANDSAT, SPOT, RADARSAT, ERS-1, NOAA AVHRR, and aerial photography. Use FreeView to overlay GIS data and view the associated attribute data. Technical specs available at http://www.pcigeomatics.com/pdf/geomatica_freeview.pdf
GIS Viewer 4.0 - GIS Viewer 4.0 from UC Berkeley is a new web-based tool for displaying and manipulating layers of geographical points and vectors, and raster data such as maps and images. GIS Viewer 4.0 is designed to scale from data sets covering the entire earth to high-resolution imagery of fine details. Povides users with the ability to zoom, pan, query, automatic projection conversion among UTM, lat/lon, Albers; vector, raster, transparent raster and point data support, and numerous other features!
ViewFinder® V2.1 - ViewFinder® V2.1, a free viewing tool that provides the ability to: display image files; spatially query image files prior to exporting; overlay, smooth, sharpen and enhance imagery; and reproject multiple images on-the-fly; rapidly navigate large imagery data sets; and move imagery from its existing projection system to one of many predefined output datums and projections, creating files in either the IMG or TIFF formats.
