r/gis

Hey! I've been looking for a simple but specific authoritative vector dataset of the major rivers of the United States. It would be incredible if someone could let me know where I can find a similar kind of dataset for state-level rivers and streams. I'm trying to visualize Pennsylvania's major rivers/streams with the Ohio River.

USGS's National Hydrography dataset doesn't have entire river lengths in their vector data, they just have short segments or flowlines- and to be completely honest with you all, I'm trying to save myself the hassle of figuring out how I would need to analyze the NHD data LOL.

Hi there! I'm looking to find a GIS software for my fiance and would love some recommendations based on this very specific use-case. Hoping you all can help!

He has been collecting and tracking coins he finds on the street, and over the last 7 years, the hobby has metastasized from casually grabbing a penny on the ground to finding over $5 in coins on a walk to the bagel shop. He recently hit $1,000 in found change on the ground!!

For almost a year now, he's also been tracking each coin's coordinates and has built a big coin map using free features on Google Maps. He's recently hit the limit of layers and pins per layer on Google Maps and we're looking for a better system for him to track the coins and do some additional data analysis on the coins. This is all as a hobby, so doesn't need to be super intense, but he is contemplating starting a substack about this, so definitely want something that could make interesting visualizations and personal data analyses. I was wondering if you all had some recommendations on which platform would be best. I was looking at the personal tier of ArcGIS, but looks like QGIS could also be an option.

Any opinions and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!!

OS: Windows 10-11.

Excuse me if the question sounds elementary - I am not formally trained in any GIS programs.

Batches of waypoints, either scans of handwritten notes or Garmin .gpx files, get passed through my desk occassionally. I need to batch-convert these data so that they are available in multiple file formats (.csv, .gpx, .kml, .kmz) and data format (Lat-Long degrees decimal, Lat-Long degrees minutes decimal, UTM, etc.) for archival and data sharing purposes.

I have EasyGPS and Google Earth Pro to manipulate the files locally, but conversion is still very reliant on web tools like GPS Visualizer and NOAA's NCAT. These tools still work for the time being, but they present a security risk for sensitive data, not usable at remote sites, and isn't secure long term when the servers go down. Does anyone have a workflow for converting waypoints using offline programs that I can learn from? FOSS is the most ideal, but if it's proprietary programs then I would prefer single-time purchase over subscriptions.

I cannot register an account on USGS. I want to view 20th-century Landsat imagery, but I can't do it due to the mandatory registration. I am essentially working on forest cover changes related to severe weather, and I really need access to the source files, as I am also planning to collaborate with the ESWD, but all my plans have fallen apart because I just can't register!

Hello! I’m sure this question has been over asked, but I have a varied background and would love some guidance.

I worked as a field geologist for 2 years in a private geotechnical firm. I liked the work I did in office, but field work became far too taxing on my body and I was diagnosed with a chronic illness that makes travel hard. I was looking to move more towards in-office positions, even more so focused on environmental. GIS is a beyond helpful skill set in geo (obviously) and I have never taken the time to learn it, but I have always wanted to. How would current professionals recommend a job transition like this? I am taking a lot of the free arcGIS courses online through ERSI, and was thinking about taking some of the technical exams, but I’m not sure if employers even care for something like that or if it’s a waste of money.

Any and all advice is appreciated!

I wanted to share a project I built with Claude Code and also explain the why behind it for anyone trying to build something similar.

The app is called LOC8. It started from a real problem I noticed in law enforcement. During foot pursuits, perimeter setups, large apartment complexes, alleys, backyards, or unfamiliar areas, it is easy to get turned around and need to quickly relay your exact location.

The idea was not to build another map app. The idea was to remove friction. Maps can give you a blue dot, but when you need the actual address, nearest cross street, GPS coordinates, heading, and accuracy fast, there are still extra steps. LOC8 puts that information on one screen for iPhone and Apple Watch.

Claude Code helped me build basically everything: the iPhone app, Apple Watch app, location logic, UI iterations, bug fixes, edge cases, and landing page. I used it heavily for React Native, watchOS, location handling, design cleanup, and keeping the product consistent.

The hardest part was not showing GPS data. The hard part was making it feel fast and useful under stress. I had to think through things like location accuracy, Apple Watch responsiveness, speed gating, driving versus walking, address refresh behavior, cached location data, and how much information is actually useful at a glance.

So far the app has grown to 1,500+ users, made a little over $1.5k in under 2 months, and has been around a 25% App Store product page conversion rate. Most growth has come from Reddit posts and manual outreach.

The biggest lesson for me is that Claude Code works best when you bring a real problem to it. It did not invent the use case. I understood the pain point first, then used Claude Code to help turn it into a working product.

For anyone one or two steps behind me, my advice would be: do not start with “what app can AI build for me?” Start with “what annoying problem do I understand better than most people?” Then use AI to help you move faster, test more ideas, and ship.

Would love feedback on the concept, the Apple Watch side, or how you would improve the product from here.

I've done my undergrads and master's in geology in India in 2023. I have training done on Qgis and I'd like to pursue a career with that. However I don't have enough skills to get into the job market yet. That's why I was considering applying for a master's degree in gis. I'd love to move to spain or Norway but I'm not sure how the economy is doing on that perspective. I've been told that Australia is a better option for geology students

I'd love some insights about it. What are your thoughts. I know Indians don't have the best image online but I hope you'd be kind and welcoming towards my queries.

So my team lead calls me every Saturday to give me work sometimes for urgent digitizing and today it was for marking building points, but our working days are Mon-Fri from 9am to 6pm. Everytime I do the work but today I told him I have plans. Anybody in the team can do the work so why does he call me ? Why because I'm a fresher ? I hope he won't fire me for it. Am I doing the right thing ?

I'm starting to put together a porfolio of my work, and was wondering if it's appropriate/useful to include projects I've made during ESRI MOOCs in my portfolio? Thanks!

Just want to get some opinions on ArcGIS Earth, I wish it had the smooth zoom effect of Google Earth. How do you use it in your workflows?

I have a decade of experience and I'm having trouble locating not spammy looking jobs right now. Open to contract, part-time, seasonal, or short term gigs, but prefer to go to another full time job.

I wanted an interactive 3d map of my property for agroecological purposes and I open sourced the framework. It lets you draw an AOI and then queries some fetchers to get some common datasets like USGS LiDAR, LANDFIRE, and GAP Species Richness.

It creates a three.js scene and tries to roughly type the trees as evergreen or deciduous with NAIP imagery and then even guesstimate the species with the LANDFIRE EVT classes.

It has some other goodies as well!

I hope you like it! Full source code here to build your own:
https://github.com/zymazza/mazzap

https://preview.redd.it/bcdbl36ifuah1.png?width=1004&format=png&auto=webp&s=2bb6b3485fd0b7343daeb45c08529678818d64a4

I'll admit that I'm kind of sick of all the doom and gloom that I see around here regarding the future of this technology. With that being said, I'm not happy that the other post was deleted, because I think it's important that we talk about this stuff.

First of all, the job market is tough right now across all fields, not just GIS. Companies everywhere are laying off people, downsizing, moving jobs overseas and preparing to replace some jobs with AI. It's definitely not a good time to be without a job, and if you're one of the ones who is without a job and looking, my heart goes out to you.

Secondly, salaries have not kept up with the cost of living in most places. Again, with the exception of very high level jobs, this is true across almost all industries and job categories. I've experienced it myself, and with the team I manage. The raises I've been allowed to give to my direct reports have been proportionally much smaller since COVID. These are decisions that come from the top of my organization on down... And as a manager, I hate it. I see the frustration on my employees faces when I can't reward them the way they deserve. Meanwhile, our executives still have multi million dollar salaries and bonuses. It sucks.

However, there is still some opportunity out there. There is still a ton of value in managing Geospatial data, and the need for that is still growing. The key is that you have to be able to apply it in a way that more than just "making maps". There's very little business value in mapmaking. The value comes when Geospatial data is used to make much larger business decisions or develop products which use that data. Those decisions or products lead to profit or savings for your organization.

I know a guy who recently got a job making $200k for company that is building autonomous driving technology. They are not just applying it to cars... it's going inside military vehicles, farming equipment and stuff used for space exploration. GIS is not mentioned anywhere in his job title or the job description, but it is 100% a job managing and analyzing geospatial data.

If you were only searching for job titles like GIS Technician/Analyst/etc. you would never see this job. You have to change how and what you search for. More and more companies are embedding GIS into Data Science and Engineering type roles.

I know times are tough... But let's all try to stay positive!

Anyone know anything about them? Positive? Negative? Interviewing for a role there and would appreciate any feedback/thoughts.

Last month I gave a hands-on, day-long workshop on building GeoAI agentic apps, at the GeoAI 2026 conference in Ghent, Belgium. I'll be giving a longer version of the course in two weeks on maven. If interested check it out! https://geoagents-course.decision-labs.com/ Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about it! #agentic #mcp #a2a agui

https://preview.redd.it/2cw9sa5943bh1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5871441286cecd3d8e0393118347c8cd11b4872e