Midterm vocab Flashcards
GIS
Organized collection of computer hardware,
software,
geographic data,
and personnel designed to efficiently
capture,
store,
update,
manipulate,
analyze,
and display all forms of geographically referenced information
GIS outputs
Includes cartographic displays,
spatial analysis,
tabular reports
ArcToolbox
A collection of geoprocessing tools for ANALYZING, EDITING, and CONVERTING data.
ArcCatalog
A catalog window that is used to organize and manage various types of geographic information.
Types of info in ArcCatalog
geodatabases,
raster files,
map documents,
layer files,
toolboxes,
models,
and Python coding scripts.
ArcGIS Pro
The latest professional desktop GIS application from ESRI.
Extent
The geographic limits of a map, bounded by coordinates including ranges of lat and long.
Vector
Data type comprised of x-y coordinates, in the form of single points, lines, arcs, or polygons.
Raster
Data type comprised of pixels organized into rows and columns, representing digital aerial photographs, imagery from satellites, digital pics, or scanned maps.
.GPX file
GPS Exchange Format file - a text file with geographic information such as waypoints, tracks, and routes.
Digital Elevation Model
Digital representation of ground surface topography or terrain. Uses a raster grid to store elevation values.
ESRI Grid File
Raster format developed by ESRI for ArcGIS. Defines geographic space as an array of equally sized square grid points.
Digitize
The process of converting geographic data from a hardcopy or scanned image into vector data by tracing the features.
Latitude
The North/South component of a location on the surface of an ellipsoid. Also known as parallels.
Longitude
The East/West component of a location on the surface of the Earth.
Geographic Coordinate System
A system that uses a 3-D spherical surface to determine locations on the Earth.
Coordinate system
Can be defined by either a sphere or a spheroid approximation of the Earth’s shape. A spheroid can help maintain accuracy for a map.
Datum
A set of values that defines the position of the spheroid relative to the center of the Earth. Provides a frame of reference for measuring locations and defines the origin and orientation of lat and long lines. Each GCS is created using a datum.
Datum, prime meridian, angular unit of measure
Components needed to create a GCS.
Projected Coordinate System (PCS)
A flat, two-dimensional representation of the Earth using linear units of measure for coordinates.
Projection on-the-fly
Performs the same process as the Project tool, only the data does not change. What ArcGIS does to resolve conflicts when you data is in a different coordinate system than your map.
