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The Cambria County Geographic Information Systems Department of the Cambria County, Pennsylvania government is responsible for facilitating the integration of geographic information systems (GIS), geospatial technologies (GT), and database and Web services/applications for Cambria County departments and residents. In this role, the GIS provides county staff and citizens with a wide array of geographical data and maps. The GIS is staffed by Stephen J. Kocsis, GISP, and Tim Spangler.
Cambria County is a county located in central Pennsylvania. At the 2010 Census, the population of Cambria County was 143,679. The County seat of Cambria County is Ebensburg. Cambria County is part of the Johnstown, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area and is also included in the Johnstown-Somerset, PA Combined Statistical Area. Communities found in Cambria County include: Johnstown, Ashville, Brownstown, Carrolltown, Cassandra, Chest Springs, Cresson, Daisytown, Dale, East Conemaugh, Ebensburg, Ehrenfeld, Ferndale, Franklin, Gallitzin, Geistown, Hastings, Lilly, Lorain, Loretto, Nanty-Glo, Northern Cambria, Patton, Portage, Sankertown, Scalp Level, South Fork, Southmont, Summerhill, Tunnelhill, Vintondale, Westmont, Wilmore, Adams, Allegheny, Barr, Blacklick, Cambria, Chest, Clearfield, Conemaugh, Cresson, Croyle, Dean, East Carroll, East Taylor, Elder, Gallitzin, Jackson, Lower Yoder, Middle Taylor, Munster, Portage, Reade, Richland, Stonycreek, Summerhill, Susquehanna, Upper Yoder, Washington, West Carroll, West Taylor, White, Beaverdale, Belmont, Blandburg, Colver, Dunlo, Elim, Mundy’s Corner, Oakland, Revloc, Riverside, Salix, Sidman, Spring Hill, St. Michael, Vinco, Coupon, Flinton, New Germany, and Twin Rocks.
Cambria County uses ArcGIS for its GIS mapping system. The ArcGIS system is a cloud-based complete GIS mapping system, which is updated daily to reflect new changes to the land in Cambria County. The system also incorporates aerial photographs, which are updated regularly, but not daily.
Cambria County uses ArcGIS, which is a geographic information system that is designed to manage geographic data. This system captures, stores, manipulates, analyzes, manages, and presents geographic data. While the larger ArcGIS system handles data from a larger worldwide area, the Cambria County GIS is focused on geographic data in Cambria County.
The maps and data created, compiled, stored, and analyzed by the Cambria County GIS serve multiple functions. They are used by other county agencies to track changes in the county, which may be used for purposes of tax assessment, school boundary lines, voting, infrastructure, disaster planning, or other governmental functions. The tracking system allows the county to monitor current information, track historical changes, and predict future growth and changes.
One of the central roles of Cambria County’s GIS system is interaction with flood maps. These maps highlight FEMA identified flood plains, which can help determine when flood insurance is necessary as well as flood insurance rates for people in flood-plain designated areas. This can be critical for county residents, because they may be ineligible for FEMA assistance after a flood if their property is located in a recognized flood plain but is not covered by flood insurance.
One of the important roles of the GIS system is its role in emergency services, including 911 mapping. In fact, one of the GIS specialists is also in charge of integrating geographic changes into the 911 system, to ensure the speediest emergency response by first responders in Cambria County.
The most basic way to access maps through the Cambria County GIS system is to use the Cambria County GIS Center at http://cambriapa.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html. This website has a number of interactive maps for the county. Using these maps, the user can select and deselect information that is specific to each type of map. This format allows users to tailor ready-made maps for their own uses.
Maps included in the Cambria County GIS Center include: app Boundary Explorer, app Cambria County Public GIS Viewer, app Cambria County Voter Information, app Duman Park, app Floodplain Inquiry, app Municipal Information, app Pennsylvania Area NGS Geodetic Control Stations, app Tax Sale Properties, and FracTracker Alliance United States Shale Viewer.
User options vary depending on the map you select. For example, the FracTracker Alliance United States Shale Viewer allows you to select shale plays and shale basins in the Cambria County area.
In Cambria County, Pennsylvania, the GIS Administrator is a hired Geographic Information Services Professional. The current head of the GIS department is Stephen J. Kocsis, GISP. He can be reached at the GIS Division.
You can reach the Cambria County GIS division during business hours, which are Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:00pm EST:
401 Candlelight Drive
Suite 208
Ebensburg, PA 15931
Phone: 814-472-1408
You can find a gallery of online maps at the Cambria County GIS Center which is available at: http://cambriapa.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html.
You can find FEMA floodplains with Cambria County data at: http://gis.cambriacountypa.gov/publicgis1/index.html?config=apps/Floodplains/config.xml.
You can find your polling place at: http://gis.cambriacountypa.gov/publicgis1/index.html?config=apps/Elections/config.xml
You can also request specific data services from Cambria County. There may be fees associated with these services. To access a fee schedule and menu of services, you can visit: https://www.cambriacountypa.gov/SharedFiles/Download.aspx?pageid=27&mid=215&fileid=790
Stephen J. Kocsis, is the current Cambria County head of GIS. He oversees Cambria County’s GIS system. The Cambria County GIS Department is a stand-alone division in the Cambria County, Pennsylvania government. The GIS division is used by other county departments to fulfill geography-dependent roles and tasks. In addition, the GIS can provide residents and visitors with a wide array of geographical data and maps, including information on flood plains and flood insurance requirements. Much of this information is available online through the county’s existing map systems, but, when information is not already available, users can request custom-made maps from the GIS division. Custom-made information analyses or maps are a fee-based service.