Britannica Sources used in this answer

How are vector data and raster data different in GIS?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

A detailed topographic map showing contour lines, a winding blue river, and elevation changes across a green and brown landscape. — map Topographic map.

In GIS, vector and raster data represent two distinct methods for storing and analyzing geographic information.1

Vector Data

Vector-based GIS represents geographic features using coordinate geometry:1
* Points: Stored as individual coordinate pairs.
* Lines: Represented as a series of connected points.
* Areas: Defined by multiple lines forming a closed shape.
* Surfaces: Often modeled as a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN), which uses nonoverlapping triangles to represent uniform slopes.1

Vector data is highly efficient for storing discrete entities and their associated descriptions, which are kept in tabular format linked to the graphic objects.1

Raster Data

Raster-based GIS represents the Earth as a grid of uniform cells:1
* Grid Cells: Points are represented as individual squares, while lines and areas are formed by collections of these cells.1
* Surfaces: Stored as a matrix of values, such as a digital elevation model (DEM), where each cell contains a specific elevation value.1

While vector data excels at defining precise boundaries and features, raster data is particularly effective for representing continuous surfaces and phenomena across a landscape.1