GeoTIFF

GeoTIFF is a public standard for embedding georeferencing information within a TIFF file, allowing raster imagery to be directly located in a geographic coordinate system. By combining the TIFF image with a well-defined set of geokey metadata, GeoTIFF files can be read by GIS software without needing separate world files or sidecar metadata.

Georeferencing is stored in a combination of tags that describe the coordinate reference system, map projection, and transformation from pixel coordinates to geographic coordinates. Core components include the model tiepoints and pixel scale (the affine relationship), and a GeoKeyDirectory that lists the CRS and projection parameters. The result is a self-describing raster that can represent any supported CRS, including geographic and projected systems such as WGS84 or UTM.

GeoTIFF supports multi-band rasters, various data types, and common TIFF compression schemes. It remains compatible with a wide range of TIFF readers and GIS tools through the underlying TIFF format, while providing a robust mechanism for storing complex geospatial metadata. It is widely used for satellite imagery, digital elevation models, and other geospatial rasters.

Development and maintenance of the GeoTIFF standard are overseen by the GeoTIFF Working Group. The format is openly documented and broadly implemented by major software packages such as GDAL, QGIS, ArcGIS, and ENVI, contributing to its status as a de facto standard for georeferenced raster data.