Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from the lecture notes.

Geographic Information (GI)

Information that can be associated with a specific location on Earth, defined in terms of a point, area, or volume.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer-assisted system for the collection, storage, management, analysis, and representation of geo-referenced data to support decision-making.

Components of GIS

The five components of GIS include Hardware, Software, Data, People, and Methods.

Vector Data

Data represented by discrete objects such as points, lines, and polygons.

Raster Data

A continuous grid of cells representing geographic features, which can be categorical or continuous.

Digitizing

The process of converting geographic features into a digital format for use in GIS.

Buffering

A GIS process that determines the proximity relationship between features.

Choropleth Map

A thematic map that uses color or shading to represent statistical data across a geographic area.

Remote Sensing Data

Data captured by satellites or aerial sensors providing imagery or digital elevation models.

Esri

The largest GIS software company in the world, known for its product ArcGIS.