Author: Adam DuVander

In the age of DoorDashing from the 7-Eleven across the street and Michelin star microwave dinners, the tools you use for data should be just as convenient. This includes maps, which make it easy to visualize the meaning in your data and can go beyond just showing you the geography of your information.

Our mapping tool takes any additional data you may have and automatically groups it together so that you and your users can easily filter what you want to see in or out. Let’s first go over how to make a map of your data, which you’ll need before getting started with map filters. We’ll also demonstrate how to easily add multiple filters at once. Let’s jump into it.

Make a Map of Your Data

Before you can get started with map filtering, you’ll need a map. Thankfully, it couldn’t be easier to make a custom version, like our largest metropolitan parks example below.

View Metropolitan parks by size in a full screen map

Start by identifying the data for your map. Any location-based nformation can be plotted—be it countries, states, cities, addresses, or even geographic coordinates. You may find desirable data with your business proposals, sales numbers, or even the Wikipedia page of a topic that interests you. If the data isn’t already stored in a spreadsheet, you’ll want to transfer it to Excel, Google Sheets, or any other spreadsheet program. It’s best to include headings and separate columns for the location information. Then, plot your points with the following steps:

1. Select and copy the information from your spreadsheet
2. Open your web browser and navigate to batchgeo.com
3. Click on the location data box with the example data in it, then paste your own data
4. Check to make sure you have the proper location data columns available by clicking “Validate and Set Options”
5. Select the proper location column from each drop-down
6. Click “Make Map” and watch as the tool maps your data

Now let’s find out about map grouping and filtering your newly created map.

Intelligently Group Additional Information

As an entire profession is dedicated to mapping (cartography), simple maps provide valuable insights on their own. However, BatchGeo also finds the best home for any additional data you may have. For example, the largest city parks data contained information about location (city/metropolitan area and country) along with park name.

The location gets mapped while the name ends up as the title. But the data also contained:

• Ranking (1-161)
• Managing authority
• Size (in both acres and hectares)

BatchGeo makes these data columns (and just about any non-location fields in your spreadsheet) available for map grouping. The tool will automatically place any numerical data (like the ranking and sizes in our example) into helpful ranges while textual data gets grouped based on repeat values. This paves the way for you and your map users to select only the markers that meet certain requirements, filtering out the rest.

See What You Want, Filter Out What You Don’t

Custom maps can have upwards of thousands of markers. Seeing them pinned can help you identify geographic trends, but what about your additional groups? You can filter your groups, enabling you and your map users to select only the markers that meet certain requirements—and combinations of requirements. There are a couple of ways to go about viewing only what you want, but perhaps the simplest is to navigate to the lower left dropdown. Then, opt for the group of your choice and select an option from the legend to filter.

Another way to filter is via the search bar in the upper righthand corner of your map. Type in a group or specific range, then select the right one. The map will update to include only the results that match your search, and it will zoom closer to their location. But that’s not the extent of what you can do.

Add Multiple Filters At Once

Narrowing down your map by one value, say the largest range (495K – 7,800 acres), already makes your data more manageable. With a single filter, you isolate 27 out of the 168 city parks on the map. However, you have the option to further your focus with additional filters at once.

Via the dropdown in the lower left of your map, you can mix and match different groups, adding more values in the legend. As you select additional values, the filter grows, showing you only the data you want to see, when you want to see it.

Get a new view into your data with map filtering. Try copy-pasting your Excel spreadsheet into batchgeo.com to start gaining fresh insights.

While just about any vacation is appreciated, many consider an island getaway as the pinnacle of relaxation. Islands like The Hawaiian Islands are a frequent vacation or wedding destination for a reason. But the U.S. has more islands to offer than just Hawaii (which is actually eight islands) when you’re in the mood for domestic island-hopping.

We’ll cover the U.S.’s 155 islands—from the largest to the smallest (sometimes called islets)—and every island in between. We’ll also see which state or states have the most islands versus those without the isolated getaways, all on the map below.

View U.S. Islands in a full screen map

Based on Wikipedia’s list of U.S. islands ordered by area, the map includes islands ranging from just 3.7 square miles (approximately 9.7 km 2) to 4,028 square mile-islands (10,433 km 2). The data also contains population information gathered either in 2010 or 2000. The population of the 28 largest islands was gathered in 2010 while the smaller 127 islands’ population data was reported in 2000. Speaking of largest, let’s dive into the top 10.

10 Largest Islands

By definition, an island is any non-continental land that’s surrounded by water. This means entire countries—take Singapore, for example—can be classified as such, making for some really big islands.

The largest country-island tied to the U.S. is Puerto Rico. Yet, the territory is only the third-largest U.S. island. Let’s examine those that are even bigger, along with other large islands of 1,500+ square miles on the table below—and on the map, if you group by “Area (sq mi)”.

Island’s Name	Area (sq mi)	Area (km 2 )	Location	Population
Hawaii Island (the Big Island)	4,028	10,433	Hawaii	185,079
Kodiak Island	3,588	9,293	Alaska	13,592
Puerto Rico	3,363	8,710	Puerto Rico	3,725,789
Prince of Wales Island	2,577	6,675	Alaska	5,559
Chichagof Island	2,080	5,388	Alaska	1,342
St. Lawrence Island	1,983	5,135	Alaska	1,352
Admiralty Island	1,684	4,362	Alaska	650
Nunivak Island	1,625	4,209	Alaska	191
Unimak Island	1,590	4,119	Alaska	35
Baranof Island	1,570	4,065	Alaska	8,532

The #1 largest island in the U.S. is the Big Island of Hawaii. At 4,028 square miles (10,433 km 2), this single island is bigger than the seven others that make up the state combined. Together, the areas of Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Niihau add up to 2,392 square miles, making Hawaii Island 1.68 times their size. The rest of the largest islands in the U.S. are located in the country’s only other non-contiguous state, Alaska.

Of course, this may leave you wondering about the largest island located in one of the 48 contiguous United States. That would be #11, Long Island in New York, which measures in at 1,401 square miles (3,629 km 2). The next biggest of the contiguous U.S.? Padre Island in Texas, and it’s only 209 square miles (542 km 2).

The Many Islands of Alaska

You may have noticed Alaska is home to eight out of the 10 largest islands in the U.S. But even these don’t begin to cover the impressive amount of islands scattered throughout the state.

In total, 78 islands are located in Alaska. The largest is, of course, Kodiak, which covers 3,588 square miles (9,293 km 2). The island is also where 13,592 people call home. On the other hand, the smallest of Alaska’s many islands is Woronkofski Island. At 23 square miles in size (59 km 2), its population is zero. Can you spot all 78 of Alaska’s islands on the map?

If not, there are other states with more than five islands: Michigan (12), Washington (9), Hawaii (8), and California (7), though Alaska is the obvious winner. See what else The Last Frontier tops the charts in (The 200 Highest Summits in the U.S.) before moving on to the states sans islands.

Island-less States

Just 23 of the 50 United States have land that qualifies as an island. The 27 states without include:

• Northeastern states Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
• Southeast Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia
• Midwest Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota
• Southwest Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma
• West Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming

States with just one island are:

• Northeastern states Delaware, Maryland, and Vermont
• Southeast Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina
• Midwest Ohio
• West Oregon and Utah

As you can probably tell, not every place has islands to spare. Even small islands are a hot commodity, so let’s examine the smallest.

Smaller Islets of the U.S.

Keys aren’t just what you scramble to find before starting your car. The word also means smaller islands, along with islets, skerries, or cays. The islands on the table below can all be classified as such due to their areas of 15 or fewer square miles.

Island’s Name	Area (sq mi)	Area (km 2 )	Location	Population
Mackinac Island	3.7	9.7	Michigan	492
Kelleys Island	4.3	11	Ohio	312
Dauphin Island	6.26	16.2	Alabama	1,371
Mercer Island	7	17	Washington	22,036
South Manitou Island	8	21	Michigan	0
Block Island	9	25	Rhode Island	1,051
Conanicut Island	9.4	25.1	Rhode Island	5,622
Grosse Ile	9.6	24.9	Michigan	10,894
San Miguel Island	15	38	California	0
Fenwick Island	15	38	Delaware	8,002

Note that three Michigan islets make the list: Mackinac Island, South Manitou Island, and Grosse Ile. Rhode Island is also home to more than one itsy-bitsy island. Combined, these two states account for 50% of the smallest islands in the U.S.

It’s easier than ever to make a map of your data and see new trends—whether it be that most of the smallest U.S. islands are located in Michigan or, for a non-U.S.-based map, the insights you can glean with Shipwrecks in International Waters. Get started mapping your own data today at batchgeo.com.

Athletes of exhilarating sports know it’s important to minimize accidents while maximizing fun. For instance, rock climbers use best-practice commands. It’s scuba diving best practice to log each dive upon completion.

To achieve the next level of certification or a technical certificate, divers must present a certain number of logged dives. Additionally, if a diver wants to dive multiple times a day, they must know the depth and duration of previous dives to calculate saturation levels in preparation for the next dive. Divers may also note equipment used and conditions (i.e. fresh or saltwater) to make it easier when planning another dive in similar conditions.

Plus, who wouldn’t want to visualize past dive sites and keep track of the places you hope to experience in the future?

View Dive Map in a full screen map

We added the World’s 10 Best Places for Scuba Diving to a spreadsheet, along with a few more for good measure. Let’s walk through how we made this dive map and how you could do the same with your own under-the-sea moments. It all starts with a simple spreadsheet.

Types of Dive Locations to Log in a Spreadsheet

Bring your dive logs into the 21st century with the help of a spreadsheet. Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets are both great tools to store your essential diving data. A spreadsheet version of a dive log allows you to do things you just can’t with pen and paper. To start, let’s go over the basic location-related headings you’ll need to create a dive log.

Dive site: Whether it’s Castle or Canibal Rock, you of course want to note the dive sites you visit. Keep track of these to avoid going to the same site twice or to ensure you remember your favorite site.

City, state, and country: Remove the confusion of two dive sites with the same name when you include the city, state, or country where the dive site is located. This is also crucial information needed for your dive map later on. If you want to get advanced you can map the latitude and longitude of your locations.

However you track your location, that’s just the start of what you can include in your dive log spreadsheet. So what additional information can we add?

More Spreadsheet Columns for Your Dive Map

Of course, there’s more to scuba diving than location. Other factors that affect the safety and logistics of your dives are a must to track. If you have to note them, you may as well make it easy with a spreadsheet. Some of the additional factors that could be column headings include:

• Dive number
• Date
• Entrytime
• Depth
• Duration
• Equipment (such as the thickness and type of wetsuit, etc.)
• Conditions (including water type)
• Fellow divers
• Where you’ve been & want to go
• Image
• Comments

Not only are you storing this key data in an organized way, but you’ll also be able to sort your dive map by several of these categories. Our mapping tool’s grouping feature allows you to sort the map by this extra info. See for yourself how useful grouping can be when you make your own dive map.

Map Your Scuba Dive Spreadsheet

Once you have your spreadsheet, input it into our mapping tool by following the steps below.

1. Open your spreadsheet
2. Select (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A) and copy (Ctrl+C or Cmd+C) your data
3. Open your web browser and navigate to batchgeo.com
4. Click on the location data box with the example data in it, then paste (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V) your own data
5. Check to make sure you have the proper location data columns available by clicking “Validate and Set Options”
6. Select the proper location column from each drop-down
7. Click “Make Map” and watch as the geocoder performs its process

The result is a dynamic custom map of your dive site locations. You can sort it based on the additional data from your spreadsheet and dive into the data within your map and share your experiences with others.

Share Your Dive Map With Friends & Fellow Divers

While a dive map for your own logging purposes is extremely useful, it’s even better when you can share it with friends and fellow scuba divers. Doing so is easy via a web or mobile device.

Share the link to your dynamic map with friends or embed it on your website so that the world can see all the dive sites you’ve visited (or want to visit). Yet, a scuba dive map isn’t the only map you can make with your data and share with your friends. For the less aquatically-inclined, a map of my location and favorite places applies to anyone who has ever left the house.