The intersection operation is used in geographic analysis to identify the common area shared by two or more layers. This process helps generate a new feature class that contains only the overlapping portions of the input datasets.
ArcGIS Pro provides two tools for performing this operation: Intersect and Pairwise Intersect. These can be accessed by navigating to the following locations:
Geoprocessing > Toolboxes > Analysis Tools > Overlay > Intersect
Geoprocessing > Toolboxes > Analysis Tools > Pairwise Overlay > Pairwise Intersect
In the Input Features field, all layers that are to be intersected must be included. For instance, if the analysis involves two feature classes named intersect_1 and intersect_2, both should be added to the input list. The result will be a new layer containing only the features or portions of features that are shared between the input layers.
This method is commonly used for spatial analysis tasks such as determining where multiple zoning regulations overlap or identifying areas that meet several spatial criteria.
Result of intersecting two layers.
