What is the purpose of georeferencing?

Georeferencing is a critical process in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that involves aligning unreferenced data—such as aerial photographs, scanned maps, or other types of raster images—with spatially referenced data, which has a known coordinate system. The purpose of georeferencing is to give geographic context to the unreferenced data by establishing a relationship between it and a real-world coordinate system. This alignment allows users to accurately overlay the unreferenced data onto existing GIS datasets, enabling better analysis, visualization, and interpretation of geographic information.

By effectively placing the unreferenced data in the appropriate geographic context, it becomes usable for further analyses, such as measuring distances, identifying trends, or integrating with other spatial datasets. This process is essential for ensuring that all data layers are compatible and can be interpreted in relationship to one another, thereby enhancing the overall utility and accuracy of GIS projects.