Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Glossary

A tabular database associated with a set of geographic features, storing descriptive information (attributes) for each feature in rows and columns.

A zone of a specified distance created around a point, line, or polygon feature, used for proximity analysis.

The art and science of designing and producing maps, including decisions about symbolization, labeling, generalization, and layout.

A framework that defines how 2D or 3D coordinates relate to actual locations on the Earth, including a datum and projection.

A mathematical model of the Earth's shape used as a reference surface for calculating coordinates. Examples include WGS 84 and NAD 83.

A raster dataset representing the continuous elevation of the Earth's bare ground surface.

The process of converting analog geographic data (e.g., paper maps) into digital vector format by tracing features.

A collection of geographic features sharing the same geometry type (point, line, or polygon) and attribute schema, stored in a geodatabase.

The process of transforming textual location descriptions (addresses, place names) into geographic coordinates.

Esri's native data storage format for GIS data, supporting feature classes, rasters, topology rules, and relationship classes in a relational database structure.

An open standard format for encoding simple geographic features and their attributes using JSON syntax.

Aligning a raster image or non-spatial dataset to a geographic coordinate system using ground control points.

A branch of statistics dealing with spatially correlated data, using methods like kriging to model spatial variation and predict values at unmeasured locations.

A satellite-based navigation system providing precise location and time information to GPS receivers anywhere on Earth.

Estimating unknown values at unsampled locations based on known values at surrounding sample points.

Light Detection and Ranging, a remote sensing technology using laser pulses to create detailed 3D models of terrain and surface features.

A mathematical method for representing the curved surface of the Earth on a flat plane, inevitably introducing some distortion.

Documentation describing the content, quality, condition, origin, and other characteristics of a geospatial dataset.

Analytical methods applied to linear networks to solve routing, allocation, and connectivity problems.

A spatial operation combining two or more layers using Boolean or arithmetic logic to derive new information.

A spatial data model that represents geographic phenomena as a grid of uniformly sized cells, each containing a value.

The science of obtaining information about objects or areas from a distance, typically from satellite or airborne sensors.

A GIS operation that appends attributes from one layer to another based on their spatial relationship (e.g., contains, intersects, within distance).

The spatial relationships between connecting or adjacent features, including rules for adjacency, connectivity, and area containment that ensure data integrity.

A spatial data model that uses points, lines, and polygons defined by coordinate pairs to represent discrete geographic features.