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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z-factor

  1. [coordinate systems] A conversion factor used to adjust vertical and horizontal measurements into the same unit of measure. Specifically, the number of vertical units (z-units) in each horizontal unit. For example, if a surface's horizontal units are meters and its elevation (z) is measured in feet, the z-factor is 0.3048 (the number of meters in a foot).