Shapefiles projecting incorrectly with local coordinates and combination factor

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06-16-2021 07:50 AM
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KaitlynAbrahamson
Regular Contributor

I am trying to project several shapefiles created in CAD that show up too far north.  The projection in CAD is North Dakota North, International Foot with County Ground Coordinates. I have them projected in NAD 1983 StatePlane North Dakota N FIPS 3301 (Intl Feet) coordinate system right now and the projection is Lambert Conformal Conic.  I'm not sure why the map has that projection.  The CAD files also have a combination factor of 1.0001075116 and I'm not sure if that is why the shapefiles are not projecting in the correct location.  Does anyone have any suggestions to help me?

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pokkiri
New Contributor

Local coordinate systems with combination factors can be tricky because the data often doesn't align with standard CRS definitions. The first step is always to verify where the data actually appears on a map.

 

A quick diagnostic approach: upload your shapefile to https://projectionfinder.comProjection Finder  - it previews your data on a basemap so you can immediately see if it's appearing "too far north" or in the wrong location entirely.

 

If the visual location is way off from where you expect, the CRS definition is likely incorrect. For CAD data with local coordinates, sometimes you need to work with the surveyor or data provider to get the correct transformation parameters.

 

The visual verification step saves a lot of trial-and-error when dealing with non-standard coordinate systems.

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