A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface. GIS connects data to a map, integrating location data (where things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things are like there). GIS can use any information that includes location. The location can be expressed in many different ways, such as latitude and longitude, address, or PIN code. In fact, many different types of information can be compared and contrasted using GIS. The system can include data about people, such as population, income, or education level. It can include information about the landscape, such as the location of streams, different kinds of vegetation, and different kinds of soil. It can also include information about the sites of factories, farms, and schools, or storm drains, roads, and electric power lines.

Thus, as GIS can show many different kinds of data on one map, it enables people to easily see, analyze, and understand patterns and other relationships and geographic context. For example, by knowing the geographic location of farms using a specific fertilizer, GIS analysis of farm locations, stream locations, elevations, and rainfall will show which streams are likely to carry that fertiliser downstream. Thus, by relating seemingly unrelated data, GIS can help individuals and organizations better understand spatial patterns and relationships. Therefore, It is used in climate science, environmental conservation, anthropology, archaeology and regional planning.