Mapping Thanksgiving Dinner

Geography of Thanksgiving: Mapping What’s for Dinner

The leading GIS software producer, ESRI, has created a story map showing the locations of where the staples of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner are produced in the United States.  (Click on the dinner plate to see the different maps).  The four individual maps detail the locations of turkey production and where sweet potatoes, green beans, and cranberries are grown.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2007 data), Minnesota is the leader in raising live turkeys with 46.5 million birds.  The total number for the entire United States is 248 million.

Wisconsin produces the most green beans with 258,320 tons and is also the highest producer of cranberries with 430 million pounds.  North Carolina produces the most sweet potatoes with 972 million pounds.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library includes a 28-station computer lab featuring the full suite of ESRI software for teaching, research, and learning.  For more information about using GIS software, please contact Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist, in the GRMC at 765-285-1097.