Least Cost Path multiple start and end points

AlexWendt

Hi,

For my MA degree I'm currently studying the breeding ponds for a salamander species on an Air Force Base. I would like to determine the connectivity between ponds by performing a Least Cost Path analysis. I am a novice when it comes to ArcGIS and am having difficulty determining how to have multiple starting and ending points. I would like each pond to be a start and end point and to find the connectivity between all of them. What is the best way to do this? Thanks in advance!

Alex

DanPatterson_Retired

you can have multiple origins and destinations in least cost path, although not all destinations may be reachec

Check the details here

Creating the least-cost path—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop  from this link

Cost Path—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

And spend some time examining your cost surface in details.  Most people skirt the issue and focus on the path part.  You should really spend some time examining how the variation in the costs associated with your surface properties affect the overall paths.  You might also want to look at PathDistance and Corridor analysis tools within the overall toolset

An overview of the Distance toolset—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

you can do some pretty useful stuff if the underlying fundamentals of costs, their attributition and effects are known and understood