Georeferencing

I haven't learned something new in a while, but this week saw an end to that. Turns out that I was incorrect when I previously said that I would be using all of my scanned files to mark out the street lights on all of Olathe. What I am doing is sort of similar, but it does not include marking lights. It is something called georeferencing, and initially it was complex enough leave me dazed for a while. However, I am happy to tell you that I got the hang of it after a few days and many questions.

I will walk you through the steps. Now that I have all the ".tiff" files extracted, I then pull those separately into the ArcGIS map program as previously described. This creates a map layer for the each picture file that I draw in. I then read the document to see what Olathe "plat" (small plots of land) it lies on, then select that plat from a menu. This brings me to it on the main Olathe map, and I can then do the actual georeferencing. I then compare the picture file and the main map and pick at least two easy to spot overlapping landmarks. This locks them overlapping each other showing the exact same plot of land, but with the picture document showing the street light layout. The next step is to save, and then I am done. That ".tiff" file has been georeferenced to the map.

It all took a while to get used to and make meaningful progress, but these files are of undeveloped plats as well, so I can see the layout of all the roads and homes before they are even built. I may be weird, but there is just something satisfying about that.