Clip features to a region

You are compiling data for a conservation analysis of Honduras. You found a layer representing terrestrial ecoregions, however, the layer covers the entire world, and all of your other layers are confined to Honduras. You'll make a copy of this layer that is clipped to the border of the country. You'll also add metadata so you can trace the clipped layer back to its source.

This tutorial was last tested on July 5 2023, with ArcGIS Pro 3.1. If you're using a different version of ArcGIS Pro, you may encounter different functionality and results.

Requirements

• ArcGIS Pro (see options for software access)

Clip features to a region

Video

This tutorial is also available as a video.

Clip features to a region video

Review the data

You'll start by reviewing the dataset to determine the best method for extracting the data you need.

1. Download the Ecoregions project package.

   A file named Ecoregions.ppkx is downloaded to your computer. A .ppkx file is an ArcGIS Pro project package and may contain maps, data, and other files that you can open in ArcGIS Pro.

2. Locate the downloaded file on your computer. Double-click Ecoregions.ppkx to open it in ArcGIS Pro. If prompted, sign in with your ArcGIS account.

   Note:

   If you don't have access to ArcGIS Pro or an ArcGIS organizational account, see options for software access.

   A map appears, showing biomes and ecoregions for the entire world in 2017. The data was created by the nongovernmental organization RESOLVE, and is available from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

3. Zoom to Central America.

   

   Most of the data in this layer is not needed for your map. You only want to retain the ecoregions for Honduras. You'll check if you can select or filter the data to Honduras.

4. Right-click anywhere on the map and click Select Features.

   

5. Click any area in Honduras.

   

   An ecoregion feature is selected, but it extends beyond the border of the country. You won't be able to select those features within Honduras without also selecting areas in neighboring countries. You need to use the Clip tool instead.

   Note:

   If the features you need are completely contained within your study area, you can select and extract a subset of features instead of clipping them.

6. Right-click anywhere on the map and click Clear to clear the selection.

Find a clipping layer

To clip the Ecoregions layer, you'll first need a polygon feature representing Honduras. You can find this data on ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

1. In the Catalog pane, click the Portal tab and click the Living Atlas tab.

   

2. In the search bar, type world countries and press Enter.
3. In the search results, right-click the World Countries feature layer and choose Add To Current Map.

   

   A new layer appears on the map. You'll filter it to only show polygons for Honduras.

4. In the Contents pane, right-click World_Countries and choose Properties.
5. In the Layer Properties window, click the Definition Query tab. Click New definition query.

   

6. Use the menus to construct the following query: Where ISO Code is equal to HND.

   

7. Click Apply and click OK.

   The map redraws. The only orange areas remaining are the mainland and islands of Honduras.

   

Clip the Ecoregions layer

You'll use the Clip geoprocessing tool to create a layer that only contains those parts of the Ecoregions layer that overlap with the World_Countries layer.

1. Above the ribbon, click Command Search.
2. Type clip. In the search results, click Clip (Analysis Tools).

   

   The Geoprocessing pane appears.

3. In the Geoprocessing pane, for Input Features or Dataset, choose Ecoregions.
4. For Clip Features, choose World_Countries.

   Only the features included in the definition query will contribute to the clip.

5. For Output Features or Dataset, type Ecoregions_Honduras.

   By default, the output layer will be stored in the project's geodatabase.

   

6. Click Run.

   When the tool completes. a new layer is added to the map. You'll remove the old layers, which are no longer needed.

7. In the Contents pane, right-click Ecoregions and click Remove.
8. Also remove the World_Countries layer.

   The new layer contains ecoregions only within the border of Honduras.

   

9. Close the Geoprocessing pane.

Add metadata

Next, you'll update the metadata for the new layer so you won't forget where the data originally came from.

1. In the Catalog pane, click the Project tab.
2. Click the expander next to Databases to expand this folder. Also expand ecoregions.gdb.

   

3. Right-click Ecoregions_Honduras and click Edit Metadata.

   The Item Description window appears. The metadata of the original layer has been copied to the new one. You'll edit it to indicate the changes that you made.

4. For Title, type RESOLVE Ecoregions and Biomes for Honduras.

   

5. For Description (Abstract), type or copy and paste the following above the existing text: This is a subset of the data found here:https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=37ea320eebb647c6838c23f72abae5ef. This layer contains ecoregions for Honduras only. The national border was defined by the layer found here: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=ac80670eb213440ea5899bbf92a04998.

   It is important to save this information now, before you forget where the data came from. You'll need the metadata later so you can properly attribute the data's sources in your map or report.

6. On the ribbon, on the Metadata tab, in the Manage Metadata group, click Save.

   

7. Close the Item Description view.
8. On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the Save button.

   

   Note:

   A message may appear warning you that saving this project file with the current ArcGIS Pro version will prevent you from opening it again in an earlier version. If you see this message, click Yes to proceed.

In this tutorial, you created a layer of ecoregions clipped to the boundary of Honduras. You also saved metadata for your new layer to ensure that it can be tracked to its original source later. Clipping a layer to a smaller area to create a subset of the data is a common data management skill in GIS.

You can find more tutorials in the tutorial gallery.

Acknowledgements

• RESOLVE Ecoregions and Biomes: Bioscience, An Ecoregions-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix014