GNIS place names
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names as the official repository of domestic geographic names data; the official vehicle for geographic names use by all departments of the Federal Government; and the source for applying geographic names to Federal electronic and printed products.
The GNIS contains information about physical and cultural geographic features of all types in the United States, associated areas, and Antarctica, current and historical, but not including roads and highways. The database holds the Federally recognized name of each feature and defines the feature location by state, county, USGS topographic map, and geographic coordinates. Other attributes include names or spellings other than the official name, feature designations, feature classification, historical and descriptive information, and for some categories the geometric boundaries.
The database assigns a unique, permanent feature identifier, the Feature ID, as the only standard Federal key for accessing, integrating, or reconciling feature data from multiple data sets. The GNIS collects data from a broad program of partnerships with Federal, State, and local government agencies and other authorized contributors
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standalone="no" ?>
<origin>U.S.
Geological Survey</origin>
<pubdate>19810501</pubdate>
<title>U.S.
Geographic Names Information System
(GNIS)</title>
<geoform>Live
map layers in ESRI SDE; live query by
URL with parameters and response in XML;
web form query with tabular, geographic
display and printable format; ASCII file
download</geoform>
<pubplace>Reston,
VA</pubplace>
<publish>U.S.
Geological Survey</publish>
</pubinfo>
<onlink>http://geonames.usgs.gov/</onlink>
</citeinfo>
</citation>
<abstract>The
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is
the Federal standard for geographic
nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey
developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board on
Geographic Names, a Federal inter-agency body
chartered by public law to maintain uniform
feature name usage throughout the Government and
to promulgate standard names to the public. The
GNIS is the official repository of domestic
geographic names data; the official vehicle for
geographic names use by all departments of the
Federal Government; and the source for applying
geographic names to Federal electronic and
printed products of all types. See
http://geonames.usgs.gov for additional
information.</abstract>
<purpose>The
Geographic Names Information System contains
information about physical and cultural
geographic features of all types in the United
States, associated areas, and Antarctica,
current and historical, but not including roads
and highways. The database holds the Federally
recognized name of each feature and defines the
feature location by state, county, USGS
topographic map, and geographic coordinates.
Other attributes include names or spellings
other than the official name, feature
designations, feature classification, historical
and descriptive information, and for some
categories the geometric boundaries. The
database assigns a unique, permanent feature
identifier, the Feature ID, as a standard
Federal key for accessing, integrating, or
reconciling feature data from multiple data
sets. The GNIS collects data from a broad
program of partnerships with Federal, State, and
local government agencies and other authorized
contributors. The GNIS provides data to all
levels of government and to the public, as well
as to numerous applications through a web query
site, web map and feature services, file
download services, and customized files upon
request.</purpose>
<supplinf>The
U.S. Board on Geographic Names was created in
1890 and established in its present form by
Public Law in 1947 to establish and maintain
uniform geographic name usage throughout the
Federal Government. The Board serves all
government agencies and the public as the
central authority to which name inquiries, name
issues, and new name proposals can be directed.
It is comprised of representatives of Federal
agencies associated with land management and
cartography. Sharing its responsibilities with
the Secretary of the Interior, the Board
develops principles, policies, and procedures
governing the use of both domestic and foreign
geographic names as well as undersea and
Antarctic feature names.</supplinf>
</descript>
<progress>In
work</progress>
<update>As
needed</update>
</status>
<westbc>-180.00</westbc>
<eastbc>180.00</eastbc>
<northbc>72.00</northbc>
<southbc>-90.00</southbc>
</bounding>
</spdom>
<themekt>None</themekt>
<themekey>location</themekey>
<themekey>economy</themekey>
<themekey>society</themekey>
<themekey>environment</themekey>
<themekey>structure</themekey>
<themekey>imageryBaseMapsEarthCover</themekey>
<themekey>inlandWaters</themekey>
<themekey>transportation</themekey>
<themekey>utilitiesCommunication</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
identification</themekey>
<themekey>Geographic
feature</themekey>
<themekey>Geographical
feature</themekey>
<themekey>Geographic
name</themekey>
<themekey>Geographical
name</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
name</themekey>
<themekey>Official
feature name</themekey>
<themekey>Place
name</themekey>
<themekey>Variant
name</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
coordinates</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
state</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
county</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
class</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
history</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
description</themekey>
<themekey>Feature
designation</themekey>
</theme>
<placekt>Geographic
Names Information System, USGS, Reston,
VA</placekt>
<placekey>United
States</placekey>
<placekey>State</placekey>
<placekey>County</placekey>
<placekey>Territory</placekey>
<placekey>Outlying
Area</placekey>
<placekey>Topographic
Map</placekey>
<placekey>Commonwealth</placekey>
<placekey>Parish</placekey>
<placekey>Borough</placekey>
<placekey>Census
Area</placekey>
<placekey>Municipio</placekey>
<placekey>District</placekey>
<placekey>Populated
Place</placekey>
<placekey>Antarctica</placekey>
</place>
<tempkt>None</tempkt>
<tempkey>Current</tempkey>
<tempkey>Historical</tempkey>
</temporal>
</keywords>
<accconst>None</accconst>
<useconst>None.
Acknowledgement of the U.S. Geological Survey would be
appreciated in products derived from these data.</useconst>
<cntper>Roger
L. Payne</cntper>
<cntorg>U.S.
Geological Survey</cntorg>
</cntperp>
<cntpos>Chief,
Geographic Names Project</cntpos>
<addrtype>Mailing
address</addrtype>
<address>523
National Center</address>
<city>Reston</city>
<state>Virginia</state>
<postal>20192</postal>
</cntaddr>
<cntvoice>703
648 4544</cntvoice>
<cntemail>gnis_manager@usgs.gov</cntemail>
<hours>Monday
through Friday 0730-1700 Eastern Time</hours>
</cntinfo>
</ptcontac>
<datacred>The
Geographic Names Information System was developed by the
U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S.
Board on Geographic Names.</datacred>
<native>The
Geographic Names Information System is resident on a Sun
database server and a Sun web server with Sun Solaris
operating system. The database is an Oracle RDBMS with
Oracle Spatial. The web server is Oracle Internet
Application Server. Web map layers are served through
ESRI Spatial Data Engine (SDE) and an ESRI ArcIMS map
service. The system contains approximately 2 million
records, averaging 500 bytes in length.</native>
<origin>U.S.
Geological Survey</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>Geodata.gov,
Geospatial One-Stop</title>
<othercit>Geodata.gov
is a geographic information system (GIS)
portal, also known as the Geospatial
One-Stop (GOS) that serves as a public
gateway for improving access to
geospatial information and data under
the Geospatial One-Stop E-Government
initiative. Geospatial One-Stop is one
of 24 E-Government initiatives sponsored
by the Federal Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to enhance government
efficiency and to improve citizen
services. See the Geographic Names
community in geodata.gov.</othercit>
<onlink>http://gos2.geodata.gov/</onlink>
</citeinfo>
</crossref>
<origin>U.S.
Geological Survey</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>The
National Map</title>
<othercit>The
National Map, is a seamless,
continuously maintained set of public
domain geographic base information that
serves as a foundation for integrating,
sharing, and using other data easily and
consistently. The National Map viewer is
a Web-enabled portal to all of the
geospatial information contained in The
National Map. This portal not only
supports on-line access to the
geospatial information, but also allows
the download of digital data and
creation of cartographic products. The
GNIS supports The National Map as the
source for the gazetteer search in Find
Place function of The National Map
viewer and as active names layers.</othercit>
<onlink>http://nationalmap.usgs.gov/</onlink>
</citeinfo>
</crossref>
<origin>U.S.
Geological Survey</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>The
National Atlas</title>
<othercit>The
National Atlas summarizes national-scale
geographical information and delivers
easy to use, map-like views of America's
natural and sociocultural landscapes.
This digital version revises a large
bound collection of paper maps that was
published in 1970. The Atlas serves a
diverse populace as an essential
reference, a framework for information
discovery, an instrument of education,
an aid in research, and a reliable
source of government information. It
includes stimulating products and
services for children and adults to
understand complex relationships among
environments, places, and people. It
contributes to our knowledge of the
environmental, resource, demographic,
economic, social, political, and
historical dimensions of American life.
Though it cannot display detailed map
information, the Atlas directs users to
other sources for this information. The
GNIS provides geographic feature,
location, and attribute data to the
National Atlas.</othercit>
<onlink>http://nationalatlas.gov/</onlink>
</citeinfo>
</crossref>
<origin>U.S.
Geological Survey</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>The
National Hydrography Dataset</title>
<othercit>The
National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a
comprehensive set of digital spatial
data that contains information about
surface water features such as lakes,
ponds, streams, rivers, springs and
wells. Within the NHD, surface water
features are combined to form "reaches,"
which provide the framework for linking
water-related data to the NHD surface
water drainage network. These linkages
enable the analysis and display of these
water-related data in upstream and
downstream order. The GNIS provides
geographic feature name data to the
National Hydrography Dataset.</othercit>
<onlink>http://nhd.usgs.gov/</onlink>
</citeinfo>
</crossref>
<origin>National
Geospatial Agency (NGA)</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>GEOnet
Names Server</title>
<othercit>The
GEOnet Names Server (GNS) provides
access to the National Geospatial Agency
(NGA) database of foreign geographic
feature names. The database is the
official repository of foreign
place-name decisions approved by the
U.S. Board on Geographic Names (US BGN).
Approximately 20,000 of the database's
features are updated monthly.</othercit>
<onlink>http://gnswww.nga.mil/geonames/GNS/index.jsp</onlink>
</citeinfo>
</crossref>
<origin>U.S.
Census Bureau</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>LandView</title>
<othercit>LandView
is a desktop mapping system that
searches and maps selected information
from the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Census Bureau, and the U.S.
Geological Survey. LandView contains a
large subset of GNIS feature, location,
and attribute data for the United
States. It is available on DVD. See the
LandView web site for information
concerning the latest edition and
ordering.</othercit>
<onlink>http://landview.census.gov/</onlink>
</citeinfo>
</crossref>
</idinfo>
<attraccr>During
Phase I data compilation, a random sample of 10%
of the entries in the system were visually
verified against the compilation source data
(large-scale USGS topographic maps) to ensure an
accuracy rate of at least 95%. Subsequent data
compilation and input processes ensure accuracy
with programmed validation checks for format and
content, visual examination, and spot checks of
data.</attraccr>
</attracc>
<logic>During
Phase I data compilation, a random sample of 10% of the
entries in the system were visually verified against the
compilation source data (large-scale USGS topographic
maps) to ensure logical consistency of locative
references (geographic coordinates, topographic map, and
county. Subsequent data compilation and input processes
include programmed validation checks for logical
consistency, visual examination, and spot checks of
data.</logic>
<complete>This
dataset contains information about United States
physical and cultural geographic features of all types
and classes, with the exception of most roads and
highways. Subsequent to the original data compilation
process, which was taken primarily from Federal maps,
the GNIS has become dependent on input from Federal,
State, county, and local government agencies and other
approved sources. The completeness, currency, and
accuracy of the data varies by area depending on the
quality and timeliness of that input. Accordingly, the
Geographic Names Project actively seeks to expand
partnerships with Government agencies at all levels and
other interested organizations. The latest tools and
methodologies are being applied, including web map and
feature services, and joint or linked web applications,
to ensure that local data are properly represented in
the GNIS and through the GNIS to all Federal agencies
and to the public. Feature additions or corrections are
accepted for consideration from any source, and when
validated by appropriate agencies, will be entered into
the database. Local and State agencies are encouraged to
submit data and to participate in the GNIS partnership
program. Non-government organizations with valuable data
are considered on a case basis. Authorized partners have
access to web based transaction entry and edit forms,
which submit data directly to the GNIS for review and
inclusion in the database. Partners also submit batch
files in most standard formats, and coordinate with the
Geographic Names Project to develop joint services,
processes, and applications for greatest efficiency.
Data entered into the GNIS immediately is available to
all web services and applications dependent on it. For
additional information or to request user accounts for
entry and edit of production data and web seminar
training, contact gnis_manager@usgs.gov.</complete>
<horizpar>Accuracy
of these digital data is based upon the
use of printed or electronic source
graphics which are compiled to meet
National Map Accuracy Standards.
Comparison to the graphic source is used
as control to assess digital positional
accuracy.</horizpar>
</horizpa>
</posacc>
<srcscale>24000</srcscale>
<typesrc>paper</typesrc>
<srccitea>USGS</srccitea>
<srccontr>Feature
names and attribute data.</srccontr>
</srcinfo>
<origin>U.S.
Geological Survey</origin>
<pubdate>Unpublished
material</pubdate>
<title>Records
of the U.S. Board on
Geographic Names</title>
</citeinfo>
</srccite>
<typesrc>card,
paper, and electronic files</typesrc>
<srccitea>USBGN</srccitea>
<srccontr>Feature
names and attribute information</srccontr>
</srcinfo>
<origin>U.S.
Forest Service</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>U.S.
Forest Service
1:24,000-scale
topographic maps and
visitor maps</title>
</citeinfo>
</srccite>
<srcscale>24000</srcscale>
<typesrc>paper</typesrc>
<srccitea>USFS</srccitea>
<srccontr>Feature
names and attribute information</srccontr>
</srcinfo>
<origin>National
Ocean Service (NOS)</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>National
Ocean Service charts</title>
</citeinfo>
</srccite>
<typesrc>paper</typesrc>
<srccitea>NOAA/NOS</srccitea>
<srccontr>Feature
names and attribute information</srccontr>
</srcinfo>
<origin>The
State Names Authorities</origin>
<origin>Council
of Geographic Names
Authorities (COGNA)</origin>
<origin>U.S.
Forest Service</origin>
<origin>National
Ocean Service (NOS)</origin>
<origin>National
Park Service (NPS)</origin>
<origin>Other
Federal, state and local
agencies</origin>
<origin>Public</origin>
<pubdate>Unknown</pubdate>
<title>Unknown</title>
<othercit>Since
the original data
compilation was
completed from the
original sources, GNIS
accepts data or data
changes for
consideration from any
source, and upon
validation by the Board
on Geographic Names or
the appropriate Federal
or state agency, will
enter the data into the
database. The GNIS has
an active data gathering
and maintenance program.
A web-based data date
entry and edit
application allows
authorized users to
submit transaction data
directly for validation
and entry into the
database, where it
immediately becomes
available to all web
services and
applications. A test and
demonstration site with
no connection to
production data is
available for review,
training, and
familiarization. Batch
files will be accepted
in most standard
formats. Government
agencies at all levels
are encouraged to join
this program. Other
organizations and
individuals will be
considered on a case
basis. For additional
information or to
request user accounts
for entry and edit of
production data and web
seminar training,
contact
gnis_manager@usgs.gov.</othercit>
</citeinfo>
</srccite>
<typesrc>Multiple
electronic or text media types.</typesrc>
<srccitea>Various</srccitea>
<srccontr>Feature
names and attribute information</srccontr>
</srcinfo>
<procdesc>GNIS
Phase I data compilation and edit -
Feature name and attribute data were
collected from the largest-scale USGS
topographic maps available. These data
are compared to the records of the U.S.
Board on Geographic Names.</procdesc>
<srcused>USGS</srcused>
<srcused>USBGN</srcused>
<procdate>198105</procdate>
<cntper>Roger
L. Payne</cntper>
<cntorg>U.S.
Geological
Survey</cntorg>
</cntperp>
<cntpos>Chief,
Geographic Names Project</cntpos>
<addrtype>Mailing
address</addrtype>
<address>523
National Center</address>
<city>Reston</city>
<state>Virginia</state>
<postal>20192</postal>
</cntaddr>
<cntvoice>703
648 4544</cntvoice>
<cntemail>gnis_manager@usgs.gov</cntemail>
<hours>Monday
through Friday 0730-1700
Eastern Time</hours>
</cntinfo>
</proccont>
</procstep>
<procdesc>GNIS
Phase II data compilation and edit -
Feature name and attribute data are
collected from official state and local
sources and other approved sources
including historical maps and documents.</procdesc>
<srcused>USGS</srcused>
<srcused>USBGN</srcused>
<procdate>Not
complete</procdate>