Glossary            [A-D] - [E-J] - [K-P] - [Q-S] - [T-Z]

Label*
Any text cartographic element that adds information to the symbol for a feature, such as the height number label on a contour line.

Labor force
The labor force includes all people classified in the civilian labor force, plus members of the U.S. Armed Forces (people on active duty with the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard). The Civilian Labor Force consists of people classified as employed or unemployed
Related terms: Employed, Unemployed

Lake 1
A body of fresh or salt water entirely surrounded by land.

Land-cover map*
A map showing the type of actual surface covering at a given time. Categories could be grassland, forest land, cropland, bare rock, and so on.

Landmark*
TIGER term for a geographic feature not a part of the census features.

Landscape*
The part of geographic space showable on a map, including all its features.

Land-use map*
A map showing the human use to which land is put at a given time. Categories could be pasture, national forestland, agricultural land, wasteland, and so on.

Language spoken at home
The language currently used by respondents at home, either "English only" or a non-English language which is used in addition to English or in place of English.

Latino
See Spanish/Hispanic/Latino

Latitude*
The angle made between the equator, the earth's geometric center, and a point on or above the surface. The south pole has latitude -90 degrees, the north +90 degrees.

Layer*
A layer, sometimes also referred to as a "coverage", is a set of thematically associated data considered as a unit. Examples of layers in the Arizona Electronic Atlas include: 2000 Census Places, 2000 County Boundaries, and Highways. (From the ESRI GFIS Glossary at http://www.esri.com/library/glossary/glossary.html)

Legend
The part of a map that lists and explains the colors, symbols, line patterns, shadings, and annotations used on the map.

Line*
A one-dimensional (length) map feature represented by a string of connected coordinates.

Line feature*
A geographic feature recorded on a map as a sequence of locations tracing out a line. An example is a stream.

Living quarters
A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home or trailer, a group of rooms or a single room occupied as separate living quarters or, if vacant, intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any people in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall.
Related term: Housing unit

Locate*
See Identify

Location*
A position on the earth's surface or in geographic space definable by coordinates or some other referencing system, such as a street address or space indexing system.

Long form
The decennial census questionnaire, sent to approximately one in six households for the 1980, 1990, and 2000 censuses, contains all of the questions on the short form, as well as additional detailed questions relating to the social, economic, and housing characteristics of each individual and household. Information derived from the long form is referred to as sample data, and is tabulated for geographic entities as small as the block group level in 1980, 1990, and 2000 census data products.
Related terms: Census (decennial), Sample data, Short form

Longitude*
The angle formed between a position on or above the earth, the earth's geometric center, and the meridian passing through the center of the observing instrument in Greenwich, England, as projected down onto the plane of the earth's equator or viewed from above the pole. Longitudes range from -180 (180 degrees West) to +180 (180 degrees East).

Mammals Species Richness - see "Species Richness"

Map*
A depiction of all or part of the earth or other geographic phenomenon as a set of symbols and at a scale whose representative fraction is less than 1:1. A digital map has had the symbols geocoded and stored as a data structure within the map database.

Map Themes
A user-defined perspective on a geographic dataset specified, if applicable, by a name and feature or dataset name, attributes of interest, or data classification scheme. (from the Association for Geographic Information (AGI) GIS Dictionary at http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/agidict/welcome.html)

Map design*
The set of choices relating to how a map's elements are laid out, how symbols such as colors are selected, and how the map is produced as a finished tangible product. The process of applying cartographic knowledge and experience to improve the effectiveness of a map.

Map overlay*
Placing multiple thematic maps in precise registration, with the same scale, projections, and extent, so that a compound view is possible.

Map projection*
A depiction of the earth's three-dimensional structure on a flat map.

Map title*
Text that identifies the coverage and content of a map. This is usually a major map element and can be worded to show the map theme or the map's content.

Map type*
One of the set of cartographic methods or representation techniques used by cartographers to make maps of particular types of data. Data, by their attributes and dimensions, usually determine which map types are suitable in a map context.

Marital status
Adults are generally classified by marital status as being married, never married, separated, divorced or widowed.

Maximum daily temperature 2
The highest temperature reached at any point during a 24 hour period defined as midnight to midnight local standard time rounded to the nearest whole degree.

Mean*
A representative value for an attribute, computed as the sum of the attribute values for all records divided by the number of records.

Mean Daily Temperature 4
The average of the highest and lowest temperatures during a 24-hour period

Mean total precipitation

Measure
Interactively measures the distance (in both miles and kilometers) between two points by selecting the beginning and ending points on the map. Multiple segments may also be measured

Measurement*
A quantitative assessment of a phenomenon.

Median
This measure represents the middle value (if n is odd) or the average of the two middle values (if n is even) in an ordered list of data values. The median divides the total frequency distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases fall below the median and one-half of the cases exceed the median.

Median age
This measure divides the age distribution in a stated area into two equal parts: one-half of the population falling below the median value and one-half above the median value.
Related term: Age

Median income
The median income divides the income distribution into two equal groups, one having incomes above the median, and other having incomes below the median.
Related term: Income

Menu*
A component of a user interface that allows the user to make selections and choices from a preset list.

Meridian*
A line of constant longitude. All meridians are of equal length on the globe.

Metadata*
Data about data. Index-type information pertaining to the entire data set rather than the objects within the data set. Metadata usually includes the date, source, map projection, scale, resolution, accuracy, and reliability of the information, as well as data about the format and structure of the data set.

Metropolitan
Refers to those areas surrounding large and densely populated cities or towns.

Metropolitan area (MA)
A collective term, established by the federal Office of Management and Budget, to refer to metropolitan statistical areas, consolidated metropolitan statistical areas, and primary metropolitan statistical areas.

Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
A geographic entity defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget for use by federal statistical agencies, based on the concept of a core area with a large population nucleus, plus adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core. Qualification of an MSA requires the presence of a city with 50,000 or more inhabitants, or the presence of an Urbanized Area (UA) and a total population of at least 100,000. The county or counties containing the largest city and surrounding densely settled territory are central counties of the MSA. Additional outlying counties qualify to be included in the MSA by meeting certain other criteria of metropolitan character, such as a specified minimum population density or percentage of the population that is urban.

Mine 5
A pit or excavation in the earth from which mineral substances are taken; an ore deposit

Mineral 1
A naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition.

Minimum daily temperature 2
The lowest temperature reached at any point during a 24 hour period defined as midnight to midnight local standard time rounded to the nearest whole degree.

Mortgage status
"Mortgage" refers to all forms of debt where the property is pledged as security for repayment of the debt, including deeds of trust, trust deed, contracts to purchase, land contracts, junior mortgages, and home equity loans.

National Spatial Data Clearinghouse*
A World Wide Web resource that serves as a cross-reference point for the distributed database of all U. S. government public-domain and other geographic information.

National spatial data infrastructure*
The set of base geographic data necessary for effective operation of the federal government and its suppliers, made accessible as a distributed database.

Nationality
The status of belonging to a particular nation by birth, origin or naturalization.
Related terms: Ancestry

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander race and ethnic categories
Self-identification among people of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander descent.

In 1997, the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) revised the standards for how the Federal government would collect and present data on race and ethnicity. These new guidelines revised some of the racial categories used in 1990 and preceding censuses and allowed respondents to report as many race categories as were necessary to identify themselves on the Census 2000 questionnaire.
Related terms: Census (decennial), Race

Natural Resources (Map theme)
This map theme provides a selection of data for a wide range of natural resources in Arizona. The data layers allow the user to explore relationships between climate, water resources, wildlife, vegetation, mineral resources, etc. The information comes primarily from state and federal sources such as the Arizona State Land Department, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service.

NBII 1
National Biological Information Infrastructure

Neat line*
A solid bounding line forming the frame for the visually active part of a map.

Network*
Two or more computers connected together so that they can exchange messages, files, or other means of communication. A network is part hardware, usually cables and communications devices such as modems, and part software.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)*
A part of the Department of Commerce that is a provider of digital and other maps for navigation, weather prediction, and physical features of the United States.

Noninstitutionalized population
Includes all people who live in group quarters other than institutions.
Examples: college dormitories, rooming houses, religious group homes, communes, and halfway houses.
Related terms: Group quarters (GQ), Group quarters population, Institutionalized population

Nonmetropolitan
The area and population not located in any Metropolitan area (MA).
Related term: Metropolitan area (MA)

Nonrelatives
Any household member, including foster children, living in the housing unit but not related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption.
Related terms: Family, Foster children, Household

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
NAICS classifies industries using 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6- digit levels of detail. Two-digit codes represent sectors, the broadest classifications. Six-digit codes represent individual industries in the U.S. The North American Industry Classification System was developed by representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and replaces each country's separate classification system with one uniform system for classifying industries. In the United States, NAICS replaces the Standard Industrial Classification, a system that federal, state, and local governments, the business community, and the general public have used since the 1930s.
Related term: Economic census

Not in labor force
Not in labor force includes all people 16 years old and over who are not classified as members of the labor force. This category consists mainly of students, housewives, retired workers, seasonal workers interviewed in an off season who were not looking for work, institutionalized people, and people doing only incidental unpaid family work (less than 15 hours during the reference week).
Related term: Labor force

Number of employees
Equivalent to the number of paid employees for census purposes. Paid employees consists of full-time and part-time employees, including salaried officers and executives of corporations. Included are employees on paid sick leave, paid holidays, and paid vacations; not included are proprietors and partners of unincorporated businesses. The definition of paid employees is the same as that used on IRS Form 941.
Related term: Economic census

Number of establishments
An establishment is a single physical location at which business is conducted and/or services are provided. It is not necessarily identical with a company or enterprise, which may consist of one establishment or more. Economic census figures represent a summary of reports for individual establishments rather than companies. For cases where a census report was received, separate information was obtained for each location where business was conducted. When administrative records of other federal agencies were used instead of a census report, no information was available on the number of locations operated. When two activities or more were carried on at a single location under a single ownership, all activities generally were grouped together as a single establishment. The entire establishment was classified on the basis of its major activity and all data for it were included in that classification. However, when distinct and separate economic activities (for which different industry classification codes were appropriate) were conducted at a single location under a single ownership, separate establishment reports for each of the different activities were obtained in the census.
Related terms: Economic census, Establishment

Occupation
Occupation describes the kind of work the person does on the job. For employed people, the data refer to the person's job during the reference week. For those who worked at two or more jobs, the data refer to the job at which the person worked the greatest number of hours. Some examples of occupational groups shown in this product include managerial occupations; business and financial specialists; scientists and technicians; entertainment; healthcare; food service; personal services; sales; office and administrative support; farming; maintenance and repair; and production workers.
Related term: Employed

Occupied housing unit
A housing unit is classified as occupied if it is the usual place of residence of the person or group of people living in it at the time of enumeration.
Related terms: Housing unit, Vacancy status

Orthophoto map*
An image map that is an air photo, corrected for topographic and other effects. A specific type of mapping program, at 1:12,000, by the USGS.

Overview Map
Toggles the inset map in the upper-left of the Map Frame on or off.

Own children
A child under 18 years old who is a son or daughter by birth, marriage (a stepchild), or adoption. For 100-percent tabulations, own children consist of all sons/daughters of householders who are under 18 years of age. For sample data, own children consist of sons/daughters of householders who are under 18 years of age and who have never been married, therefore, numbers of own children of householders may be different in these two tabulations.
Related terms: Child, Related children

Owner-occupied housing unit
A housing unit is owner occupied if the owner or co-owner lives in the unit even if it is mortgaged or not fully paid for.
Related term: Housing unit, Renter-occupied housing unit

Pan
Moves the map around the screen while keeping the same level of detail.

Patch*
A fix to a program or data set involving a sequence of data that are to be overwritten onto an older version.

People and Society (Map theme)
This map theme includes data layers about people living in Arizona. It focuses on communities such as counties, census tracts, and American Indian areas. The information comes from state and federal sources such as the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and the Arizona Department of Health Services. Using these layers, you can create maps that show the social characteristics of Arizona and its communities.

People in family
Total number of people living in one household and related to the householder.
Related terms: Family, Household

People in household
Total number of people living in one housing unit.
Related terms: Household, Housing unit

Per capita income
Average obtained by dividing aggregate income by total population of an area.

Percentage
This measure is calculated by taking the number of items in a group possessing a characteristic of interest and dividing by the total number of items in that group, and then multiplying by 100.

Pixel*
The smallest unit of resolution on a display, often used to display one grid cell at the highest display resolution.

Place
A concentration of population either legally bounded as an incorporated place, or identified as a Census Designated Place (CDP). Incorporated places have legal descriptions of city, town, or village.
Related terms: Census designated place (CDP), City, Incorporated place

Place Finder
Searches for a place name in Arizona and zooms to that place on the map. It also provides a table with additional information such as type of place, county, latitude, longitude, and elevation (if available).

Place name*
A text cartographic element that links a place name to a feature by placing it close to the symbol to which it corresponds, such as a city name as text next to a filled circle.

Point*
A zero-dimensional map feature, such as a single elevation mark as specified by at least two coordinates.

Point feature*
A geographic feature recorded on a map as a location. Example: a single house.

Polygon*
A many-sided area feature consisting of a ring and an interior. An example is a lake on a map.

Population
All people, male and female, child and adult, living in a given geographic area.
Related terms: Apportionment population, Resident population

Population density
Total population or number of housing units within a geographic entity (for example, United States, state, county, place) divided by the land area of that entity measured in square kilometers or square miles. Density is expressed as both "people (or housing units) per square kilometer" and "people (or housing units) per square mile" of land area.

Poverty
Following the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) Directive 14, the Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to detect who is poor. If the total income for a family or unrelated individual falls below the relevant poverty threshold, then the family or unrelated individual is classified as being "below the poverty level."
Related term: Income

Precipitation 6
Moisture falling from the atmosphere in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail

Precision*
The number of digits used to record a measurement or which a measuring device is capable of providing.

Previous Map
Takes you back to the previously displayed map.

Prime meridian*
The line traced out by longitude zero and passing through Greenwich, England. The prime meridian forms the origin for the longitude part of the geographic coordinates and divides the eastern and western hemispheres.

Print Map
Prints a copy of the map currently being viewed. Components include the map, legend, scale, overview map, date, title, and created by.

Privacy Act (US Bureau of Census)
A 1974 act that places restrictions on the collection, use, maintenance, and release of information about individuals. It gives individuals the right to see records about themselves, to obtain copies of their records, to have records corrected or amended with Census Bureau approval, and to have a statement of disagreement filed in their records if the Census Bureau does not approve the correction or amendment.

Privacy Notice (University of Arizona)
The University of Arizona (UA) provides online information and services to students, employees and the public to supplement services provided on campus. This privacy statement provides information required by Arizona law about privacy, confidentiality and related policies for individuals who use our official websites and other electronic services. This statement applies to all information collected by or submitted to UA. It is not to be construed as a contractual promise. UA encourages its colleges, schools, departments, divisions and other units contributing to its official web pages to provide specific notices about the collection and use of any personal information associated with those pages. The following information is therefore general, and we encourage you to read page-specific notices to ensure that you understand precisely the applicable privacy policies and practices. Additional UA Policies provides information about the use of computing and communications systems at UA can be found at http://w3.arizona.edu/~security/pandp.htm

Public domain*
Information that has been made available to the general public and is distributed and redistributed without copyright or patent.

* Clarke, Keith C. Getting Started with Geographic Information Systems. 4th edition Upper Saddle River, N.J., 2003.
1 USGS Glossary - http://interactive2.usgs.gov/glossary -Page no longer available.
2 NOAH CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center - http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/USclimate/glossary.html
3 National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center Glossary - http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outreach/glossary.shtml
4Oklahoma Climatological Survey Glossary - http://k12.ocs.ou.edu/teachers/glossary/
5 Encyclopedia Britannica Online - http://search.eb.com/dictionary
6 EPA Groundwater Primer - http://www.purdue.edu/dp/envirosoft/groundwater/src/terms1.htm
All other definitions from American Factfinder - http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet - click on Glossary

For other Glossaries, see http://www.gis.com/whatisgis/glossaries.html