Getting Started with QGIS: A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Your First Map
QGIS is the world’s most popular free and open-source geographic information system. Whether you’re a student, researcher, or professional looking to create maps without expensive software licenses, this guide will walk you through creating your first map from scratch.
What You’ll Need
- A computer running Windows, Mac, or Linux
- About 2GB of free disk space
- An internet connection for downloading data
- Approximately 1 hour of time
Step 1: Download and Install QGIS
Visit qgis.org and download the Long Term Release (LTR) version for your operating system. The LTR version is recommended for beginners because it’s more stable and has better documentation.
Run the installer and accept the default options. On Windows, this will also install helpful utilities like the OSGeo4W shell.
Step 2: Launch QGIS and Create a New Project
Open QGIS. You’ll see a blank canvas with toolbars on the left and top, and a layers panel on the left side. Go to Project → New to create a fresh project.
Before adding data, set your project’s coordinate reference system (CRS). Go to Project → Properties → CRS and search for “EPSG:4326” (WGS 84). This is a good default for global data.
Step 3: Add a Basemap
A basemap provides geographic context for your data. In the Browser panel on the left, expand XYZ Tiles and double-click OpenStreetMap. You should see a world map appear in your canvas.
Use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out. Click and drag to pan around the map.
Step 4: Download Sample Data
For this tutorial, we’ll map earthquake locations. Visit the USGS Earthquake Hazards website and download the CSV file of earthquakes from the past 30 days (magnitude 2.5+).
Save the file to a folder you can easily find, like your Documents folder.
Step 5: Import Your Data
Go to Layer → Add Layer → Add Delimited Text Layer. Browse to your downloaded CSV file. QGIS will automatically detect the latitude and longitude columns. Click Add to load the data.
You should now see earthquake points displayed over your basemap!
Step 6: Style Your Data
Right-click your earthquake layer in the Layers panel and select Properties → Symbology. Change from “Single Symbol” to “Graduated” to color earthquakes by magnitude. Select the magnitude column and click Classify.
Choose a color ramp (yellow to red works well for earthquakes) and click OK.
Step 7: Export Your Map
Go to Project → New Print Layout and give it a name. In the layout window, go to Add Item → Add Map and draw a rectangle to place your map. Add a title, legend, and scale bar using the Add Item menu.
Finally, go to Layout → Export as Image to save your finished map as a PNG or JPEG file.
Congratulations!
You’ve created your first GIS map. From here, you can explore QGIS’s many other capabilities: spatial analysis, terrain modeling, web mapping, and much more. Check out our other tutorials for more advanced techniques.