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Using GIS data in R

5 messages · JeffND, Rolf Turner, Zuofeng Shang

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Hi Rolf,

I have a similar question. I want to test whether a point with certain
coordinates is inside 
a state, say Texas. It seems that inside.owin() only works for testing if a
point lies in a
regular region, say a polygon. Since Texas has irregular boundary, how do we
achieve this?
Or there is some alternative way we can use.

Thanks!
Jeff  

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On 21/11/11 08:01, JeffND wrote:
It would be nice to have some context ... nabble strikes again.

But to get to your question:  How do you think the boundary of Texas
(irregular as it may be) is specified?  I expect that it is specified as
a polygon!!!  It may be *very* ``poly'' --- i.e. have a large number of
edges --- but it's still a polygon and inside.owin() will still work on it.

Have a look at the data set "nbfires" in the spatstat package.  New
Brunswick has an ``irregular boundary'' too!

Have you *tried* making your specification of Texas into an owin object?
Follow the instructions in the vignette given by:

     vignette("shapefiles")

     cheers,

         Rolf Turner
#
Hi Rolf,

Thanks very much for suggestions! Sorry if I made my question not very 
clear.

The context is as follows. I have a set of locations with coordinates 
(latitude and longitude)
from Texas region. Some of the locations are within Texas while some of 
them are not.
I am trying to find those locations within Texas by looking at if the 
coordinate of each location
is within the boundary of Texas.

Now I agree with you that the boundary of Texas is polygon although it 
looks like "irregular".
I find your previous post very helpful. inside.owin() will do the job 
but I have to figure out
the boundary (as a polygon) of Texas. Since I do not have the shapefile 
of Texas, this will be
difficult for me. I am not sure if the shapefile of the US states are 
available in R. If it not,
how can I get the shapefiles? Thanks a lot for kind help!

Best regards,
Jeff
#
On 21/11/11 10:19, Zuofeng Shang wrote:
This is not my area of expertise (if indeed I have such an area at all! 
:-) ) but
I'm sure that maps of the states of the USA --- including Texas, even! 
--- are readily available
from various sources.  I.e. from various GIS's or perhaps from the 
"maps" package.

With a bit of luck someone on the list will chime in with something more 
specific.

Or you could try asking "how/where can I get a shapefile specifying the 
boundary
of Texas" on the R-Sig-Geo list.

HTH

     cheers,

         Rolf
#
Many thanks Rolf! Your help is highly appreciated
since it helps me understand the clue of solving my problem.

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Jeff

? 2011/11/20 15:52, Rolf Turner ??:
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