1.2.3: Geographic Information System

Physical Geography: our Beautiful World · LibreTexts

0%

Contents

    Text

    Size
    100%
    Theme
    Typeface
    Line length
    Spacing

    From LibreTexts, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, as the source states it; its equations are written in TeX, which the PDF shows typeset. This page at LibreTexts.

    Advanced computer technology has placed new tools in the hands of geographers to not only create maps much more efficiently, but to analyze spatial data in map form as well. A geographic information system is a computer-based technology that enters, analyzes, manipulates, and displays geographic information. It is a marriage between computer-based cartography and database management.

    GIS layer2.jpg
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): GIS layers (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

    On each transparency is a map of a particular set of data. Examine Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). By layering the information one on top of the other, a geographer can show the relationship and degree of connectivity between various land uses and transportation routes. Transportation geographers can then plan new routes between population centers found on the census tract map layer and business locations. Geographic Information Systems are being employed to study a number of geographic issues like flood hazard mapping, earthquake hazard studies, economic market area analysis, etc.

    Global_Multihazard_Mortality_Risks_and_Distribution.jpg
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Global multihazard mortality risks and distribution. (Source)

    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) displays a map created through GIS, highlighting the composite risk posed by multiple hazards. The map captures the loss of life associated with each natural disaster. This GIS-generated map allows us to effectively visualize the population centers that face the most imminent danger from a range of hazards, including earthquakes, cyclones, droughts, landslides, floods, and volcanic eruptions.

    1.2.3: Geographic Information System is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.