Ruutväli

Ruutväli refers to the spacing between adjacent lines in a square or rectangular grid, effectively the size of one grid cell. The term is used in fields that rely on grids for measurement and alignment, such as cartography, GIS, engineering drawings, and digital imaging. The ruutväli defines the resolution or granularity of the grid: a smaller value yields more detail, while a larger value yields a coarser grid.

In cartography and GIS, ruutväli is often described as the ground distance represented by one grid cell. It is tied to the map projection and scale; for example, on a topographic map with a given scale, a 1-kilometer grid square on the ground might appear as a smaller square on the map, depending on the representation. In raster data, ruutväli corresponds to the cell size, such as 30 meters per cell in a satellite image or digital elevation model. The grid spacing influences spatial analysis, data storage, and processing time.

In design and digital imaging, ruutväli can refer to grid alignment used for positioning objects, measured in pixels or points on screen or in print resolution. It is important when digitizing features or aligning layers.

Determining an appropriate ruutväli depends on the intended scale, accuracy requirements, and data availability. Changing the grid spacing through resampling or reprojecting alters resolution and may affect results.

See also: spatial resolution, pixel size, cell size, raster data, grid reference.