Step 4: Building the Model

 Now that the idividual parts of our hypothesis have been modeled as maps, we need to do the final step of integrating them into a single model that predicts areas suitable for settlement. There are many ways one could do this; in this case we will simply add the values of each map layer together to achieve a rank-order model. Areas which scored a 1 for each of the three criteria will thus score a 3 on the final map. These represent the areas most suitable for settlement, based on our hypothesis. In the image below, these are shown as yellow. Red areas satisfy two criteria, brown satisfy one, and blue areas satisfy none.

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