Geographic data files

Geographic data can be stored in a variety of different file types. The file type depends on where or how the data was captured or created, the type of device or software that was used and what data was captured (e.g. points, lines, polygons, text). There are a lot of different file types in use and these continue to grow.

To help get you familiar with what is available, we have put together a small list of the most common file types used to hold geographic information.

Name	Extension	Description	Data type	Source
Vector data
Shapefiles	file.shp- contains the feature geometry, file.shx – stores the shape index, file.dbf – stores attribute data, file.prj – contains projection information	Consist of a number of different files that contain information about the geography, typology, attributes, projections etc.   Shapefiles consist of a number of files that MUST be kept together	Vector	esri
geodatabase	.gdb	Personal geodatabase format. Similar to an MS Access database. Stores the geographic information, attributes and ancillary information in a series of tables within a geodatabase.	Vector	esri
Geojson	.geojson; .json	GeoJSON is a format for encoding a variety of geographic data structures	Vector	https://geojson.org/ javascript
GPS data files	.gpx	XML GPS data file, usually coming from a GPS device.	Vector	Garmen and other gps devices
Google	.kml .kmz	XML plaintext file that may contain geometry, data, a web service Z files are compressed KML files	Vector	Google
Sqlite/spatialite database	.sqlite	Spatialite is an extenion to sqlite to enable it spatially.  Format often used with QGIS.	Vector	QGIS
Raster/Image data
TIFF and TIFF World File, GeoTIFF	.tiff	Image data when associated with a tfw (“world file”) of the same filename is a georeferenced image.	Raster
JPEG	.jpg	image data when associated with jpw (world file) is a georeferenced image. .jpx can contain additional metadata.	Raster
Ascii grid	.asc	Plaintext (ASCII) format	Raster
Grid files	Grid.bnd Grid.hdr Grid.sta	Compilation of files .bnd – boundary/extent metadata for the grid .hdr – metadata such as grid cell size .sta – grid cell statistics .vat – grid attribute table. Integers only	Raster	Esri
Tabular data
Comma delimited data files	.csv	Data stored in comma delimited format	Table
Text data	.txt	can be .csv or tab delimited or just plain text	Table
Tab-delimited data	.tab or .txt	Data stored in tab delimited format	Table
Standard database file	.dbf	Data stored in database file format	Table	dBASE
Spreadsheet	.xls .ods	Data stored in spreadsheets by MS Excel or Open spreadsheets	Table	MS Google
Other
netCDF	.nc	Network Common Data Form (netCDF) allows for data to be created, accessed, and shared as array-oriented.	Array

This is not a definitive list but certainly covers the essential file types that are commonly used for containing and capturing geographic information.