What is the main purpose of using the Clip tool in ArcGIS?

The Clip tool in ArcGIS is specifically designed to extract features from one layer based on the extent of another layer, which is the correct answer. When using the Clip tool, the features of the input layer are retained only where they overlap with the features of the clip layer. This is particularly useful for narrowing down analysis to a specific geographic area, filtering out any data that falls outside the boundaries defined by the clip layer.

For example, if you have a dataset of rivers and you want to focus only on the parts of rivers that fall within a certain watershed area, you would use the Clip tool, selecting the watershed as your clip layer. The resulting output would only include segments of the rivers that are within the specified watershed boundaries, effectively allowing you to manage and analyze spatial data with precision.

In contrast, the other choices represent different functionalities: creating a union combines datasets to include all features from both, dissolving boundaries merges adjacent features into a single feature to remove internal borders, and creating a buffer generates a zone around features without necessarily clipping or extracting data. Each of these tools serves a distinct purpose in spatial analysis, but when the goal is to extract a specific extent within a dataset, the Clip tool is the appropriate choice.