How can I set up a simple baseline map / starting point in GeoServer? – December 15, 2022 at 03:13PM

I’m brand new to GIS and I want a local map server where I can query for images.

I have GeoServer installed, and I want a super basic US map. Doesn’t need to be fancy. I’ve started off by getting some of the US census shape files. I also managed to find some US roads.

These are great for some rough outlines, but what I feel like is missing is general forest vs mountain vs plains geology type formations. I can’t find a good shapefile with that info.

Further, my “styles” are all basic and essentially non-existent. Are there any boilerplate styles that give a “standard” look and feel like we’ve come to expect from general map servers?

Is there anywhere I can go download a pre-configured GeoServer which has a basic datastore / layers etc set up already? If not, why not? Is this a licensing issue?

I know I’m asking what are probably a lot of basic questions but I’m not finding any straight forward answers by Googling.