Mini Atlas of Co.Galway

Cartography and Visualisation

Marguerite Walsh

MSc Geographical Information

Systems and Remote Sensing

Date Due: 12/11/2014

Marguerite Walsh

This mini-atlas of Co. Galway and Galway City shows the area in 6 different ways. Some of

the maps show the natural, physical characteristics of the region such as the topography and

geology, while another focuses on the features which may attract tourists to the area. A

different map illustrates the accessibility of Co. Galway, while the final two maps show

aspects more related to the human geography of the area.

Map 1: The Topography of Co. Galway

The first maps show the topographic features of Co. Galway.

Galway lies on the western coast of Ireland facing into the Atlantic, and so has a long

coastline. In addition it has a number of inhabited islands off its shores – including Inishbofin

to the north and the Aran Islands to the south-west.

The Connemara is an area in western Co. Galway which is known worldwide for its unique

landscape.

In addition Co. Galway has many mountain ranges, rivers and lakes.

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Marguerite Walsh

Map 2: The Tourist Attractions of Co. Galway

This map shows the tourist attractions that Co. Galway has to offer. In the bottom-left hand

corner there is a zoomed in subset of Galway City and the area surrounding it, which shows it

in more detail.

From this may we can see that many of Galway’s attractions lie along its coastline, in Galway

City or in the Aran islands, particularly the largest of these – Inishmore.

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Marguerite Walsh

Map 3: The Transport Network of Co. Galway

The map above shows the transport system in and out of Co. Galway. Galway is the fourth

most populous city in the Republic of Ireland and hence has a good transport network.

By land there is an extensive road network including the M6 which goes directly to Dublin.

There is also a railway network running north/south and east/west across the country, which

services Galway.

Given its location and the number of islands off its shores Co. Galway has a large number of

airports, although these are all quite small in size only run small regional flights between the

mainland and the islands. Similarly there are a number of ferry routes also linking the islands

to the mainland, while Galway City also has a substantial port of its own which can facilitate

larger vessels.

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Marguerite Walsh

Map 4: The Geology of Co. Galway

The most common rock type in Co. Galway is limestone and calcareous limestone which

covers much of central Galway. To the west in the Connemara area there are stretches of the

famous Connemara Limestone, while in the east are marine basinal facies.

While the geology of Galway is undoubtedly varied, it is still less variable than other parts of

the country.

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Marguerite Walsh

Map 5: The Distribution of White Irish Travellers in Co. Galway

This map was produced using Census data from 2011. It shows the distribution of members

of the travelling community in Co. Galway. Each red dot represents two “white Irish

travellers”.

This map also shows the larger urban areas of Co. Galway. It can therefore be seen that the

majority of travellers have settled in or near these urban areas with only a small number

living in more rural parts.

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Marguerite Walsh

Map 6: The Irish Language in Co. Galway

The map above was also produced using the 2011 Census data. It shows the distribution of

people who speak Irish on a daily basis outside of the education system. This data is shown as

a per cent age above or below the national average.

The Gaeltacht area of Co. Galway is also drawn on this map. Unsurprisingly the highest

number of Irish speakers can be found here compared to parts of eastern Galway where the

amount of people speaking Irish is more on par with the national level.

This mini-atlas gives a broad overview of some of the characteristics of Galway City and

County.

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