Is there a way to generate a random number of points in each polygon based on the area of the polygons (smaller polygons get less points)?

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02-11-2018 07:34 AM
DavidWeinstein1
New Contributor

I would like to generate random points in various polygons from the same layer (I tried the "create random points" feature).  However, I do not want the same number of points in every polygon.  I would like to set it so that the number of points per polygon is based on the size (with a minimum of at least 1 point per polygon).  So that the bigger polygons have more points generated in them and the smaller ones have less.  I am doing this to figure out points to ground truth underwater benthic reef features.  Thank you.

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XanderBakker
Esri Esteemed Contributor

You can use the tool: Create Random Points—Data Management toolbox | ArcGIS Desktop . Before you run the tool, create a field than will contain the number of points. Use the area field of the polygons to define the number of point that should be generated per polygon.