Moran's I is a statistic used in geographic analysis to measure what?

• A. The degree of spatial autocorrelation, indicating clustering or dispersion of similar values.
• B. The total land area of a region.
• C. The average income level across cities.
• D. The number of rivers in a watershed.

Answer: (A)

Spatial autocorrelation is about whether nearby locations tend to have similar values. Moran's I quantifies this pattern by comparing the value of a variable at one location with the values at neighboring locations (weighted by how close they are). If nearby places share similar values, Moran's I is positive and relatively large, showing clustering of like values. If nearby values tend to differ, Moran's I is negative, indicating dispersion. If there’s no consistent spatial pattern, it’s near zero. So Moran's I measures the degree of spatial autocorrelation, indicating clustering or dispersion of similar values. It’s not a measure of total land area, average income, or the number of rivers, which are simply quantities at locations rather than the way those values relate across space.