This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information.

Mapping

Geography word of the week: photogrammetry

  • Mar 16, 2016
  • 120 words
  • 1 minutes
Image of Washington, D.C. from a digital orthophoto quadrangle, an aerial or satellite photo that has been corrected so its pixels align with latitude and longitude lines. This correction technique is a part of photogrammetry. (Image: United States Geological Survey)
Expand Image
Advertisement

Photogrammetry
f?-t?-?gra-m?-tr?

Definition:
Photogrammetry is the science of obtaining reliable information and measurements about the properties of surfaces and objects without physical contact with the objects through photographs, for mapping and surveying.

Origin:
The German geographer Otto Kersten first introduced the term in 1867 in the title of an article that was published in the Architectural Society Weekly Journal. The word “photogrammetry” is derived from the three Greek words phos or phot, meaning light; gramma, which means letter or something drawn, and metrein, the noun of measure.

Example:
Photogrammetry is commonly used in mapping, architecture, geology and engineering. Meteorologists can also use it as a way to determine the actual wind speed of a tornado.

Advertisement

Are you passionate about Canadian geography?

You can support Canadian Geographic in 3 ways:

Related Content

Kids

Meet the 2015 Canadian Geographic Challenge participants

The Canadian Geographic Challenge, now in its 20th anniversary year, will bring 20 young…

  • 1691 words
  • 7 minutes

People & Culture

Kahkiihtwaam ee-pee-kiiweehtataahk: Bringing it back home again

The story of how a critically endangered Indigenous language can be saved

  • 6310 words
  • 26 minutes
historic disease map

Mapping

Q&A: Tom Koch on disease mapping and medical geography

‘Maps aren't magic,’ says University of British Columbia prof — but during disease outbreaks, they can help us sort good information from bad

  • 778 words
  • 4 minutes

People & Culture

2013 Innovation in Geography Teaching Award winner : Andrew Young

For an educator who has gone above and beyond their job description to further geographic literacy

  • 533 words
  • 3 minutes