Mapping the Nation: Pioneering a New Platform for Government

"Mapping the Nation: Pioneering a New Platform for Government" is a collection of maps developed by federal agencies using both desktop and web-based GIS tools. These maps and tools are used daily by federal employees, officials, and in some cases by the public, to gather, analyze, and respond to questions and challenges that range from the common to the catastrophic. More than twenty-five agencies across nine U.S. departments have contributed maps on subjects such as ecoregions, disaster planning, census distributions, hydrography, and pollution remediation. The visual results of GIS mapping as it is applied by these federal agencies naturally fosters a deeper understanding among many divergent perspectives and offers a truly new platform from which to compare and exchange information and points of view.