National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

The Digital Chart of the World (DCW) is a database built from 1:1,000,000 scale source maps by the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA), scheduled for public release in early 1992. Nearly 200 feature types are included in 17 data layers. A layer-by-layer examination of features included in a prototype area of the DCW is accomplished for the purpose of investigating the feasibility of building a smaller scale database via generalization. Opportunities for feature generalization are identified and specific generalization operations are described. A number of the operations are performed or simulated using ARC/INFO, and the results are graphically displayed. It is found that meaningful small scale feature representation can be achieved through the application of tailored generalization operations with a significant savings in the amount of data required.