GIS Dictionary
Definitions for GIS terms related to operations such as analysis, GIS modeling and web-based GIS, cartography, and Esri software.
Now available for purchase: A to Z GIS: An illustrated dictionary of geographic information systems.
Search the GIS Dictionary:
GIS Bibliography
Researching GIS?
Search the GIS Bibliography for a vast index of books, journals, conference proceedings and reports.
scale
-
[cartography]
The ratio or relationship between a distance or area on a map and the corresponding distance or area on the ground, commonly expressed as a fraction or ratio. A map scale of 1/100,000 or 1:100,000 means that one unit of measure on the map equals 100,000 of the same unit on the earth. -
[data quality]
In reference to double precision, the number of digits to the right of the decimal point in a number. For example, the number 56.78 has a scale of 2.
