GIS Dictionary

Definitions for GIS terms related to operations such as analysis, GIS modeling and web-based GIS, cartography, and Esri software.

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mask

See Also: variable depth masking

  1. [cartography] In digital cartography, a means of covering or hiding features on a map to enhance cartographic representation. For example, masking is often used to cover features behind text to make the text more readable.
  2. [ESRI software] In ArcGIS, a means of identifying areas to be included in analysis. Such a mask is often referred to as an analysis mask, and may be either a raster or feature layer. mask Illustration