[GIS] UK region overlay on map

google-fusion-tableskmloverlayregionunited-kingdom

I'm hoping to overlay UK regions (East Midlands, Wales, London etc) on a Google Map. Ideally the regions could be coloured, opaque and have some form of label. There is no hover / interaction requirements for the overlays.

Q – #1 – It seems like this could be achieved with KML or fusion tables. Which do you think would be better?

Q – #2 – Do you know of a good source for the outline points of these regions? I've got access to points on other maps (SVG – see link below) but not sure if this translates. If regions are not available counties could be used and coloured the same (Counties – see link below )

SVG – http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/datablog/interactive/2012/jul/11/olympians-map-uk-olympics
Counties – http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/nov/16/youth-unemployment-map

Many thanks

Best Answer

I recommend using Map to KML in ArcMap 10. Labeling the features is not straightforward--although, there is a good discussion here.

  1. Begin by creating the map overlay you would like in ArcMap, including colored outlines, opacity, etc.
  2. Run Feature to Point
  3. Turn on the labels in your new point layer
  4. Save the map as a .mxd
  5. Run Map to KML (Define the output image properties to the resolution of your choice)

Regarding data sources, I would recommend checking out this site from gadm.org. The attached Google Earth image uses this data source and the described methods.

enter image description here

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