Which system is primarily designed to handle measurements in feet or meters, rather than degrees?

The choice of a Projected Coordinate System is primarily designed to handle measurements in feet or meters instead of degrees. This system transforms the three-dimensional surface of the earth onto a two-dimensional plane, allowing for accurate distance, area, and direction calculations in specific units like feet or meters.

Projected Coordinate Systems use mathematical transformations to flatten the curvature of the Earth, which results in linear measurements that can be easily interpreted and manipulated in a GIS environment. This is particularly useful for various applications such as urban planning, engineering, and resource management, where precise linear measurements are crucial.

In contrast, the Geographic Coordinate System is based on latitude and longitude, which are measured in degrees. This system is appropriate for global positioning but does not directly provide measurements in feet or meters. Vertical datums, while related to elevation and depth measurements, do not focus on planar measurements in feet or meters. Map projections are techniques to represent the curved surface of the Earth on a flat surface, and while they can influence how projections handle metrics, the actual measurement system utilized (feet or meters) typically falls under the realm of Projected Coordinate Systems.