GIS file formats

A GIS file format is a standard of encoding geographical information into a file. They are created mainly by government mapping agencies (such as the USGS) or by GIS software developers.

Metadata often includes:
 * Elevation data, either in raster or vector (e.g., contour lines) form
 * Shape layers, usually expressed as line drawings, for streets, postal zone boundaries, etc.
 * Coordinate system descriptions.
 * One or more data describing the precise shape of the Earth assumed by the coordinates.

Raster formats

 * ADRG - National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)'s ARC Digitized Raster Graphics
 * BIL - Band Interleaved by Line (image format linked with satellite derived imagery)
 * CADRG - National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)'s Compressed ARC Digitised Raster Graphics (nominal compression of 55:1 over ADRG)
 * CIB - National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)'s Controlled Image Base (type of Raster Product Format)
 * Digital raster graphic (DRG) - digital scan of a paper USGS topographic map
 * ECW - Enhanced Compressed Wavelet (from ERMapper). A compressed wavelet format, often lossy.
 * ESRI grid - binary and ASCII raster formats used by ESRI
 * TIFF - TIFF variant enriched with GIS relevant metadata
 * IMG - ERDAS IMAGINE image file format
 * MrSID - Multi-Resolution Seamless Image Database (by Lizardtech). A compressed wavelet format, often lossy.
 * JPEG2000 - Open-source raster format. A compressed format, allows both lossy and lossless compression.

Vector formats

 * Geography Markup Language (GML) - XML based open standard (by OpenGIS) for GIS data exchange
 * AutoCAD DXF - Contour elevation plots in AutoCAD DXF format
 * Shapefile - ESRI's open, hybrid vector data format using SHP, SHX and DBF files
 * Simple Features - Open Geospatial Consortium specification for vector data
 * MapInfo TAB format - MapInfo's vector data format using TAB, DAT, ID and MAP files
 * National Transfer Format (NTF) - National Transfer Format (mostly used by the UK Ordnance Survey)
 * TIGER - Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing
 * Cartesian coordinate system (XYZ) - Simple point cloud
 * Vector Product Format - National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)'s format of vectored data for large geographic databases.
 * GeoMedia - Intergraph's Microsoft Access based format for spatial vector storage.
 * ISFC - Intergraph's MicroStation based CAD solution attaching vector elements to a relational Microsoft Access database
 * Personal Geodatabase - ESRI's closed, integrated vector data storage strategy using Microsoft's Access MDB format
 * File Geodatabase - ESRI's geodatabase format, stored as folders in a file system.
 * Coverage - ESRI's closed, hybrid vector data storage strategy. Legacy ArcGIS Workstation / ArcInfo format with reduced support in ArcGIS Desktop lineup
 * Spatial Data File - Autodesk's high-performance geodatabase format, native to MapGuide

Grid formats (for elevation)

 * USGS DEM - The USGS Digital Elevation Model
 * DTED - National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)'s Digital Terrain Elevation Data
 * GTOPO30 - Large complete Earth elevation model at 30 arc seconds
 * SDTS - The USGS successor to DEM

Other formats

 * Binary Terrain - The Virtual Terrain Project's Binary Terrain format
 * Dual Independent Map Encoding (DIME) – A historic GIS file format, developed in the 1960s
 * Well-known text (WKT) – ASCII spatial projection description (ESRI uses a *.prj extension)
 * Well-known binary (WKB) - Binary spatial projection description
 * World file - Georeferencing a raster image file (e.g. JPEG, BMP)