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Interactive Map of Iraq

At the time of the Iraq invasion, in March 2003, most of the maps available on the Internet were very generalized, small-scale maps.  For those interested in following the progress of the war, there was no GoogleEarth and it was difficult to find detailed information about the region.

To address this problem, we decided to create an ArcIMS (Internet Map Server) web site that would allow users to explore Iraq in more detail.  The web site was created quickly using data from the Digital Chart of the World (DCW) downloaded from the Penn State University Libraries web site.

This was our first attempt at making an ArcIMS web site and we had yet to learn how to customize the interface.  With the development of virtual globes, we admit that the ArcIMS technology used here is rather clunky.  Nevertheless, the web site
seems to work quite well - so we've kept it running over the years.

Click on the link below to launch the interactive map of Iraq.

ArcIMS Interactive Map of Iraq

Not familiar with ArcIMS?  Click here for basic quick tips and user information.

MAP LAYER INFORMATION
Layers Coverage Data Type Data sources
Map Border Middle East polygon feature ArcGIS shapefile
National Borders Middle East line features ESRI Data and Maps (CD1)
Middle East Cities Middle East point features ESRI Data and Maps (CD1)
Iraq Border (DCW)) Iraq line feature Digital Chart of the World (Penn State)
Iraq Cities Iraq polygon features Digital Chart of the World (Penn State)
Towns Iraq point features Digital Chart of the World (Penn State)
Roads Iraq line features Digital Chart of the World (Penn State)
Drainage Iraq line features Digital Chart of the World (Penn State)
Inland Water Iraq polygon features Digital Chart of the World (Penn State)
Topography Middle East digital elevation model GTOPO30 (30 arc second DEM)
Hillshade Middle East hillshade raster GTOPO30 (30 arc second DEM)
World Image World (Cloud Free) TIFF image ESRI Data and Maps (CD1)

Note: the Digital Chart of the World dates from the early 1990's.
More information about the Digital Chart of the World can be found at the Penn State DCW Server.