Even though I used little outside data to create the tsunami model it took a considerable amount of time to find. For example I had to search extensively for a suitable DEM for Prince William Sound and, honestly, couldn't find one with the level of resolution I needed. Much of my data was derived from the DEM or digitized with the help of hard copy maps from texts. There were a few layers I tried to find, but either they were unavailable or I was unable to get them into the same projection as my DEM (more about that in the problems section).
The Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
I started at the United States Geological Survey web site (www.usgs.gov) and searched for DEMs of Alaska. I found several at different scales, but none were detailed enough for what I wanted to do. I then went to www.gisdatadepot.com and, again, searched with the same results. I did download several DEMs from each site and struggled to get them into IDRISI to judge their suitability, along with other layers I originally planned to use in my analysis, but couldn't find anything that worked. Finally, I did a general search of the web and came across the Alaskan Geo-Spatial Data Clearinghouse (www.agsdc.state.ak.us) and Alaska's Cooperatively Implemented Information Management System (http://info.dec.state.ak.us/ciimms). Both proved to be very useful in finding layers I was looking for, including raster and vector files.
The DEM I ended up using was a 300 meter raster image of Alaska. Not as detailed as I was looking for, but I was worried about time now. From this I generated most of the layers used in my analysis. It was originally in a .bil format I imported into IDRISI raster format with much referring to the associated metadata web page.
Other Layers
Other layers I downloaded included soils, towns, roads, a detailed outline of Alaska (mainland and islands), lakes, and rivers data. I was able to get them (eventually) into IDRISI and into the same projection as my DEM, however, they refused to work and in the end I decided I didn't really need them for the analysis anyway.
Digitized Layers
Using the DEM as my base map I digitized
the archeological site locations by estimating their locations from maps
in journal articles. The source layers for the two different types
of tsunamis were digitized using the same method and converted to raster.
I received the archeological site information from Deirdre Dobson, a graduate
student here at SFU.