tmap/smap USMAPS redundant lines

[Victor Cruz]

Dear Statalisters,

Although I follow the precise instructions from Maurizio Pisati (one should sort boundary files by _ID, as suggested in p. 9 from http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/bocode/t/tmap2-UserGuide.pdf , and in http://www.stata.com/statalist/archi.../msg00715.html ), I still cannot replicate the maps from the first link above. Even though I followed the steps described in p. 10 of my link 1, I still get maps that look like the figure below.
I tried to create my own shape file following the instructions in http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/gr...pmap-and-maps/, but from the files hosted in http://www.nws.noaa.gov/geodata/cata...l/us_state.htm, one ends up with a shapefile that contains Maryland twice!
My third attempt was by using instead the module http://econpapers.repec.org/software...de/s448401.htm by Scott Merryman, but if one runs the .do file, after the 2bd command one gets an error (master file not sorted). Maybe the first line is what I am missing?

di in r "colorschemes.dta must be on the adopath" _n // I guess this line is wrong?
use "rma_summary.dta", clear
tmap chor lossratio , id(id) map("us_west.dta") palette(Blues) ocolor(white) osize(medium)  legtitle("Loss Ratios")

I would appreciate your feedback.

[Scott Merryman]

This example works:

// Data from http://www.nws.noaa.gov/geodata/catalog/national/html/us_state.htm
mkdir "C:\Users\Scott\Desktop\mapexample"
cd "C:\Users\Scott\Desktop\mapexample"
copy http://www.nws.noaa.gov/geodata/catalog/national/data/s_11au16.zip  s_11au16.zip
unzipfile s_11au16.zip, replace 
shp2dta using s_11au16, data("us_data")  coor("us_coordinates") /// 
 genid(id) gencentroids(c) replace
use us_data, clear
quietly destring FIPS, generate(fips)
//keep contiguous US states
drop if fips==2 | fips==15 | fips>56
save usstates, replace
spmap using us_coordinates, id(id)
graph export "US map.png", as(png) replace

[Victor Cruz]

Scott Merryman thanks. However, following your (kind) command, one ends up with a usstates.dta that doesn't uniquely identify the subjects, i.e., Maryland appears twice. Accordíng to Maurizio Pisati in http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/gr...pmap-and-maps/, in order to graph a variable with smaps one needs to merge the data set that contains the variable to be graphed with the one that was created with shp2dta (usstates.dta), however this is not possible because the latter has two observations for Maryland:

merge m:1 fips using "C:\Users\vdcru\Desktop\mapexample\usstates"
variable fips does not uniquely identify observations in the using data

My solution to this is to delete one of the 2 observations of Maryland

drop in 52 // delete Maryland's 2nd observation

but I guess this might be wrong because in us_coordinates.dta there is information for Marylands's two observations, indeed (_ID 56 & 57). One still gets a nice map:

[Scott Merryman]

Yes, the state of Maryland contains two distinct ids. In this example 56 and 57. If you map id == 57 you will see it is a map of the minor coastal islands and the Susquehanna river:

You could drop these coastal islands or use a map with lower resolution. The Census Department has shapefiles at three different resolutions, see http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/...cbf_state.html


For the example the 1:20,000,000 shapefile produces the following map of Maryland.

// http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cbf/cbf_state.html
mkdir "C:\Users\Scott\Desktop\mapexample2"
cd "C:\Users\Scott\Desktop\mapexample2"
copy http://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/GENZ2015/shp/cb_2015_us_state_20m.zip  cb_2015_us_state_20m.zip
unzipfile cb_2015_us_state_20m.zip, replace 
shp2dta using  cb_2015_us_state_20m, data("us_data")  coor("us_coordinates") /// 
 genid(id) gencentroids(c) replace
use us_data, clear
quietly destring STATEFP, generate(fips)
//keep contiguous US states
drop if fips==2 | fips==15 | fips>56
save usstates, replace
spmap using us_coordinates if fips == 24, id(id)
graph export "Maryland_20m", as(png) replace

[Victor Cruz]

thanks a lot, Scott Merryman
below, a graph combining the maps of Maryland, Alaska & Hawaii, from a .dta of which I deleted the second observation of Maryland.
So I guess for my purposes, if I decide to drop the coordinates of Maryland's Islands (your suggestion #1) or use a map without them (your suggestion #2), both result in analogous graphs.

[Richard Rovin]

I too am having the redundant lines issue with -tmap-. Though to me, it looks more like a cubist's interpretation of the USA. I followed the instructions from the help tmap file.
With this code:

tmap choropleth murder, id(id) map(us-coordinates.dta)

I get this map:
And with this code:

tmap deviation murder if conterminous, x(x_coord) y(y_coord) map(Us48-Coordinates.dta) sshape(s)
scolor(sienna) fcolor(eggshell)

I get this map:

I did read the above thread, but I wonder if there are alternative solutions.

Thanks in advance,
Rich