Research guides: GIS Subject Guide: GIS Data

GIS Data Types

Spatial data is usually one of two data types: vector and raster.

Vector data consists of points, lines, and polygons that often represent discrete features. Some examples of vector data would be polygons of park areas, lines representing roads and points showing bus stops. The most common file formats for vector data are Shapefile (.shp), File Geodatabase (.gdb), and KML.

Raster data is made up of a grid of regularly spaced pixels covering an entire area. Each pixel has its own value, making this data type best for continuous data. Some examples of data that is commonly displayed as a raster would be elevation, average temperature, rainfall, etc. The most common file formats for raster data are GeoTIFF (.tif, .tiff), JPEG, and PNG.

Accessing GIS Data

GIS data are available from a variety of sources. The Geospatial Centre has an extensive collection of GIS data available ranging from local to national levels. Some data are available at the US and world levels as well. On our website we have a detailed directory of the data available through the Geospatial Centre. To access this data, please send us an email or visit the Geospatial Centre.

Canadian Vector Data

University of Waterloo Campus

Regional Municipality of Waterloo

Grand River Watershed

City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

Other Ontario cities and municipalities

Aerial photographs, satellite and orthoimages

Scholars Geoportal (accessible anyone affiliated with an Ontario University)

GIS data are also available from a wide variety of sources online, typically from government organizations. This data is often available at scales ranging from local to national. The directory on our website includes links to several open data sources and they can also be easily found online.