Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a combination of computer hardware, software, and spatial data. Any information that is referenced to a location is spatial data. The GIS program is able to store, create, and analyze spatial data. For example, house addresses, latitude and longitude or some other coordinate system associates the data to a place on Earth or in space. Any physical and/or cultural geographic features and their attributes/characteristics can be displayed on a GIS system if they have this geographic referencing.

GIS systems can stack many different layers of information together and ask questions about their relationships. GIS projects can be created to produce a digital map of an area using layers describing political boundaries, roads, streets, wetlands, soil types, building footprints and more. Once the map is created, problem solving questions such as, "how many wetlands are within 100 feet of the roads?" can be answered.

The abilities to create, to update geographic information, and to interact with different elements of a map are what make GIS such a powerful tool for many different applications. GIS is used in land use management, transportation planning,  environmental management, business marketing and management, health and social services program planning, and education.