[Qgis-user] Distinct Colors for American Map

[Dan Dittmann]

On Nov 15, 2013, at 7:09 PM, Sasa Sullivan wrote:

> I am learning QGIS and know the general instructions on how to color code areas through the Style feature but am not able to get a distinct color per state for a map of the USA, maybe it is my source as I don't see one listed that encompasses the state shape only.
>  
> Also I only need the state, city and county boundaries, if someone has a scaled down Open Source shape files for the USA it would be helpful as I don't have unlimited hard drive space for the ones I have found
> 
> Sasa
> _______________________________________________


Hello Sasa,

Without knowing where your data was obtained, I cannot speculate on the trouble encountered. The instructions below assume QGIS 2.01 is used and should be usable with adjustments on older versions as well. 

First lets get some data. The National Atlas website has numerous shape files available for download. Most of what you are looking for should be available fromhttp://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html?openChapters=%2Cchpbound#chpbound. 

In this demo, I will be using the State Boundaries, One Million-Scale layer available for download at http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/pub/data/nationalatlas/statep010_nt00798.tar.gz.

- Extract the archive and import the file statep010.shp into QGIS. 
- Open the Properties dialog for the imported layer. 
- Click Style from the column on the left. 
- Locate the menu "Single Symbol" and change that to "Categorized". 
- Change the Column menu to "State" Click the Classify button.
- Click OK.

You now have a basic US Map with each state colored with a unique color. 

Dan


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