Displaying Time Series, Spatial, and Space-Time Data with R

Chapter 7

Displaying Spatial Data: Introduction

Spatial data (also known as geospatial data) are directly or indirectly referenced to a location on the surface of the Earth. Their spatial reference is composed of coordinate values and a system of reference for these coordinates. Spatial data are often accessed, manipulated, or analyzed through Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Real objects represented by GIS data can be divided into two abstractions: discrete objects (e.g., a road or a river) represented with vector data (points, lines, and polygons), and continuous fields (such as elevation or solar radiation) represented with raster data. The sp package is the preferred option to use vector data in R, and the raster package is the choice ...