What GIS does One common misconception is that a GIS is simply a
computer package to make maps. While maps are one product of a
GIS, there is much more that a GIS can do. GIS has become
recognized as a tool of unlimited potential. At the most basic
level, a GIS manages information about locations and their
physical relationships to each other. It also looks at how
things move through space, whether they are animals, humans, or
pollutants. A GIS then combines information about where things
are with what things are. This management of spatial information
allows a GIS to create new knowledge about something. A GIS is
called a system, because rather than than just software, it is
an integration of five basic components: The most important
component of a GIS. People make a GIS work. These include not
just technical specialists to run the system, but planners,
managers, scientists, and engineers. People must develop
procedures and define the tasks of a GIS Data is a very
important, and often the most expensive comp