People have historically used maps to document information about their environment. Examples include maps that display newly discovered land or document the spread of a disease. With the advancements of technology and research, contemporary map readers can visualize large data sets interactively with geographic information systems (GIS), making it a valuable visualization and analysis tool for students.

GIS is a software tool that combines maps with tabular data to produce visual or statistical displays about geographic locations, conduct spatial analysis, and model processes. Figure 1A is an example of tabular data that contains information on location (latitude and longitude), names of counties, areas of water, and land features. Figure 1B is a visual representation of the same information in a map form, and Figure 1C shows ...