The Capital District Atlas

The Capital District Atlas is the first book of selected digital maps produced by the Capital District Regional Planning Commission. The Atlas was produced using the Commission's Geographic Information System (GIS) -- a computer-assisted system which is used to create, store, analyze, and display geographic data.

The Atlas contains a series of maps that portray the geography of the Capital Region. Included are maps of characteristics such as major transportation routes, minor civil divisions, environmental features, land cover, relief, major industrial sites, public water service areas; as well as maps displaying a large variety of demographic attributes.

The Capital Region is located in east central New York at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. The Region is comprised of the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady, and covers a total land area of 2,200 square miles. The Region is 150 miles north of New York City, 190 miles south of Montreal, 165 miles west of Boston, and 290 miles east of Buffalo.

Reviewing the Atlas, it becomes apparent that the Capital District is an interesting, vital, diversified, and, most importantly, interrelated Region. The patterns that emerge -- the contrast in topography between the river valleys and the surrounding mountains; the population distribution and varying development patterns among urban, suburban, and rural areas; the location of environmental constraints, major roads and water service areas, and their relation to urban development; the income and racial contrasts among the urban, suburban, and rural areas -- add to our own knowledge of the Region and enhance the understanding of the Capital District for those unfamiliar with the Region but wanting to know more about it.

The Capital District Regional Planning Commission has published many previous reports containing charts and verbal descriptions of the Region's various characteristics. Although maps have often been included in these reports, their scope and extent have been limited. The Capital District Atlas is the first attempt to capture the important geographic characteristics of the Region solely in mapped form. For charts and verbal descriptions, other reports must be consulted. For a cartographic portrait of the Region, the maps may speak for themselves.