What is Geodata or Geospatial Data

The surface, subsurface and above the surface of the earth is covered and filled by billions of natural and constructed features, boundaries and phenomena. The information about the location as well as other attributes of these features are crucial to the public and all levels of business, government and academia. Over eighty percent all data refer to them. The term spatial, geographic, or geospatial data is used interchangeably for the kind of data that has both locational information as well as other attributes. For example, a house has an address -which is locational information- and has other attributes such as price, number of rooms, owner, type, etc., which are attribute information. There are different kinds of features, boundaries and phenomena. Rocks, minerals, oil, gas, air,oceans, lakes, and rivers are examples of natural features. Buildings, roads, railroads, farms, ranches, food processing sites, on the other hand, are examples of constructed features. Boundaries separate features such as state, city, county, and district boundaries. Earthquakes, faults, volcanism, tornado, tsunami, flood, fire and landslide and medical and dental illnesses are example of phenomena. The geospatal data and their analysis also are used in selecting safe sites for agriculture, aquaculture, food processing plants and study of foodborne illnesses and their trends, patterns and distribution and how to control them.