What do spatial queries in GIS primarily request?

Spatial queries in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) primarily focus on extracting data that involves specific spatial relationships or attributes. This means that the queries are crafted to find information based on the location, shape, and arrangement of geographic elements within a dataset. For instance, a spatial query might ask for all rivers within a certain distance from a city or all properties that intersect with a flood zone. These types of queries utilize spatial relationships, such as containment, intersection, and proximity, to retrieve relevant geographic data.

The other options, while relevant to GIS in different contexts, do not accurately reflect the primary purpose of spatial queries. For example, data involving time series analysis pertains more to temporal datasets rather than spatial relationships. A summary of geographic features may provide useful information but doesn't specifically focus on the spatial dimensions required in a query. Lastly, data retrieved from relational databases encompasses a broader range of data retrieval techniques that may not specifically leverage spatial relationships, which are central to the nature of spatial queries.