Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database serving as the Federal and national standard for geographic nomenclature, functioning as the official repository of domestic geographic names data for use by all U.S. Government departments in electronic and printed products.[1]
Developed and maintained by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)'s National Geospatial Program in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), GNIS standardizes names for physical and cultural geographic features, including current and historical entries, but excludes roads, highways, ZIP codes, and most man-made structures such as churches and parks, which were largely removed from the database in 2021.[2][1]
The system covers over one million domestic features across the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. dependent areas like Puerto Rico and Guam, and Antarctica, providing details such as official and variant names, latitude and longitude coordinates, elevations, and associations with USGS topographic maps.[2][3]
As a component of The National Map, GNIS ensures consistent application of standardized names through decisions by the BGN, which resolves disputes and incorporates input from state, local, and tribal authorities to maintain accuracy and relevance in federal geospatial data.[2][1]
Overview and Purpose
Definition and Scope
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) serves as the federal and national standard for geographic nomenclature in the United States.[1] Developed and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), GNIS functions as the official repository for standardized place names, ensuring consistency across government agencies, mapping products, and public resources.[2] It integrates as the geographic names component of The National Map, providing authoritative data on named features to support geospatial applications and decision-making.[2] GNIS encompasses current and historical information on physical and cultural geographic features, including streams, summits, populated places, and administrative boundaries, identified by proper names.[1] The database holds records for over one million domestic features located within the United States, its associated areas, and Antarctica, excluding international coverage beyond these domains.[2] [4] This scope prioritizes domestic standardization, with names approved through BGN processes to resolve duplicates, variants, and conflicts arising from historical or local usages.[4] Access to GNIS data occurs via web queries, downloadable files, and integration with other USGS datasets, such as the National Hydrography Dataset, promoting uniform nomenclature in federal mapping and beyond.[5] While comprehensive for named entities, GNIS does not catalog unnamed or minor features lacking established proper names, focusing instead on verifiable, officially recognized identifiers.[6]Historical Objectives and Standardization Needs
The rapid expansion of settlement, exploration, and mining activities in the United States following the American Civil War resulted in a proliferation of geographic names for natural and cultural features, often with multiple variants arising from diverse groups of settlers, explorers, and mapmakers.[7] These inconsistencies in naming, spelling, and application created significant challenges for federal mapping efforts, scientific reporting, and administrative coordination, as surveyors and agencies encountered conflicting designations that impeded accurate documentation and communication.[7][8] The lack of uniformity also complicated legal boundaries, resource management, and interstate commerce, underscoring the need for a centralized authority to resolve disputes and establish official standards reflecting predominant local usage while ensuring national consistency.[4] To address these issues, President Benjamin Harrison established the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) via Executive Order on September 4, 1890, with the primary objective of standardizing names appearing on government maps and resolving conflicts among federal agencies.[7] The Board's early work focused on domestic features, prioritizing present-day local preferences and limiting each entity to one official name to eliminate redundancy and confusion in official publications.[7] In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the BGN's mandate to encompass all geographic names used by the federal government, broadening its role to support uniform nomenclature across surveys, charts, and reports.[7] This evolution was formalized in 1947 through Public Law 80-242, which reorganized the BGN as a permanent interagency body tasked with maintaining standardized usage throughout the executive branch, including policies to discourage unnecessary changes unless justified by factors such as derogatory connotations or duplication.[8][7] The persistent growth in geographic data volume and the advent of digital mapping in the late 20th century highlighted the limitations of manual standardization processes, necessitating a comprehensive database to serve as a single federal repository for official names, variant forms, and historical records.[4] These historical objectives—promoting uniformity, objectivity, and efficiency in nomenclature—directly informed the development of the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the BGN, enabling systematic compilation, querying, and dissemination of standardized data to federal agencies, map producers, and the public.[4] By centralizing authority and evidence-based decision-making, GNIS addressed longstanding needs for verifiable, updatable standards that reduce errors in geospatial applications and preserve etymological context without favoring unsubstantiated revisions.[8]Historical Development
Inception and Early Establishment (1890s–1970s)
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) was established on September 4, 1890, through Executive Order 28-A signed by President Benjamin Harrison, with the primary mandate to adjudicate disputes over geographical nomenclature and promote uniformity in naming practices across federal agencies.[9] Initial membership included representatives from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Lighthouse Board, the Smithsonian Institution, and other entities involved in mapping and exploration, reflecting the era's growing need for consistent terminology amid expanding topographic surveys and westward settlement. The board's early work focused on resolving conflicts arising from variant local usages, such as differing spellings or designations for rivers, mountains, and settlements documented in field reports and early USGS quadrangles.[10] In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the BGN's authority via executive directive to enforce standardized geographic names throughout federal publications, maps, and documents, addressing inconsistencies that hindered navigation, resource management, and scientific communication.[11] This period saw the board collaborating closely with the USGS to catalog names extracted from topographic maps and hydrographic charts, laying groundwork for systematic inventories despite reliance on manual processes like card files and printed bulletins.[10] By the mid-20th century, World War II accelerated demands for precise nomenclature in military mapping, prompting further refinements; the board was formally reestablished in its modern statutory form by Public Law 80-242 in 1947, which codified its role in maintaining official federal name decisions.[8] Through the 1950s and 1960s, the BGN continued adjudicating thousands of name proposals annually, prioritizing evidence from historical records, local usage, and indigenous origins while rejecting eponyms or promotional variants lacking substantiation.[12] Efforts intensified in the 1970s as the USGS, in partnership with the BGN, resumed comprehensive name compilation from large-scale maps covering over 70% of the nation by 1976, compiling data into preliminary gazetteers that highlighted the limitations of analog storage amid rising computational capabilities.[10] These activities underscored the inefficiencies of decentralized, paper-based systems—prone to duplication and obsolescence—setting the stage for a digitized national repository, though full implementation awaited the 1980s.[10]Phase 1: Core Database Creation (1980s)
The core database of the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), known as the National Geographic Names Database (NGNDB), was established during Phase I through systematic compilation of named geographic features from the largest-scale U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps. This phase primarily involved digitizing every proper name appearing on 1:24,000-scale maps covering the conterminous United States, with initial data encoding and editing efforts completing coverage for all 50 states by mid-1979, though full compilation extended into the early 1980s.[13][14] The process was conducted by USGS in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) to create a standardized federal repository, addressing long-standing inconsistencies in name usage across government maps and publications.[15] Data entry focused on capturing essential attributes for each feature, including the official name, variant or historical names, geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude), elevation, county and state identifiers, and references to source USGS quadrangles. Compilation drew exclusively from primary cartographic sources like topographic maps, with subsequent editing cross-referenced against BGN decision records to resolve discrepancies and incorporate approved standardizations. To maintain quality, approximately 10% of entries underwent visual verification against the original maps, ensuring fidelity to depicted features such as streams, summits, locales, and populated places.[13][16] By 1984, Phase I yielded a foundational dataset exceeding 2 million records, stored in state-specific files on a mainframe system, which served as the basis for federal name standardization and eliminated the need for redundant agency-specific lists.[15][14] This phase's objectives aligned with six key goals: aiding BGN in uniform name application across federal entities; indexing names from diverse mapping sources; consolidating disparate databases; facilitating interdisciplinary data integration; defining digital standards for geographic nomenclature; and fulfilling public dissemination mandates under federal law. Products derived from the core database included magnetic tapes, microfiche, and printouts for distribution to agencies, supporting applications in resource management, emergency response, and legal boundary delineation.[13] The effort laid groundwork for expansions but prioritized completeness over exhaustive feature typing, deferring detailed generic classifications (e.g., distinguishing "stream" from "lake") to later phases.[15]Phase 2: Expansion and Enhancements (1990s–2000s)
During the 1990s, the GNIS expanded its data compilation efforts through state-level projects, such as Phase II research by the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, which focused on verifying and adding names for geographic features to enhance national coverage.[17] This period saw continued standardization of domestic names in cooperation with federal agencies, building on the core database to include more variant and historical entries while maintaining the system as the official repository for over one million features initially compiled.[4] In the early 2000s, technological enhancements improved accessibility, with the integration of GNIS as a key component of The National Map, providing authoritative geographic nomenclature for federal mapping initiatives.[2] The database incorporated additional feature classes, including canals, reservoirs, and civil post offices via agreements with the U.S. Census Bureau, expanding to nearly two million entries for natural and cultural features nationwide.[14][4] By 2000, GNIS supported USGS topographic map revisions by serving as the primary source for standardized feature names, ensuring consistency across updated 7.5-minute quadrangles.[18] Online capabilities advanced with the introduction of search applications and staged product directories, allowing bi-monthly downloads and web service queries for up to 2,000 features at a time, facilitating broader use in GIS applications.[19] These developments emphasized precise coordinates, feature classifications, and historical data to support geospatial analysis without compromising name authority.[4]Recent Developments and Updates (2010s–2025)
In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey removed certain administrative features classified as cultural or man-made from the GNIS database, including airports, bridges, buildings, cemeteries, churches, dams, forests, harbors, hospitals, mines, oilfields, parks, post offices, reserves, schools, towers, trails, tunnels, and wells.[2] These features were transferred to other National Map data themes or managed through The National Map Corps to streamline GNIS focus on physical geographic features.[2] Ongoing maintenance includes bi-monthly revisions to downloadable GNIS files via The National Map Downloader and quarterly updates to web services, with continuous submission and validation of new features and edits by data partners and staff.[20] Since February 2020, populated and non-populated places point layers in GNIS have undergone modifications, reflecting incremental data refinements.[21] In early 2025, following Secretary's Order 3423 issued on February 7, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names directed the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, with the update implemented in GNIS by February 14 to align with a presidential proclamation designating February 9 as Gulf of America Day.[22] [23] This change updated the federal standard for the feature in domestic datasets, though it prompted international debate over nomenclature consistency.[22] [24] A March 2025 report from the U.S. Board on Geographic Names noted enhancements to coordinates for 11,120 features in GNIS, part of broader efforts to improve positional accuracy, with approximately 250 remaining for review.[25] These updates support integrations with USGS platforms like ScienceBase and The National Map Viewer, ensuring synchronized place name data across federal geospatial tools.[26]Database Content and Structure
Core Feature Types and Coverage
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) database encompasses domestic geographic features across the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and other outlying areas, with separate provisions for Antarctic features.[4] It focuses on physical and cultural elements, including natural landforms, water bodies, unincorporated populated places, civil administrative divisions, census-designated areas, and military sites, while excluding roads, highways, and certain man-made structures such as airports, bridges, and schools, which were removed in 2021 to streamline the repository toward primarily natural and select cultural features.[4] The system holds records for over one million such domestic features, updated bimonthly to reflect approved name changes and new entries.[2][4] Core feature types are organized into 42 standardized classes, each defined by specific physical or cultural attributes and associated with generic terms for precise classification.[27] These classes emphasize natural phenomena, such as hydrographic features (e.g., streams, lakes, bays, reservoirs, springs, and rapids, which capture linear or areal water bodies and flows) and hypsographic features (e.g., summits, ridges, valleys, basins, cliffs, and glaciers, denoting elevations, depressions, and relief elements).[27] Landform classes include arches, arroyos, bars, beaches, capes, islands, lava flows, pillars, and plains, representing coastal, depositional, and erosional structures.[27] Vegetative and wetland types, like swamps and woods, denote poorly drained or forested areas not under formal administration.[27] Cultural and administrative classes form a smaller but essential subset, including populated places (clustered human settlements like cities, towns, and villages) and civil features (political units such as counties, boroughs, parishes, and townships).[27] Census features support statistical tabulation for areas like census-designated places, while military features cover facilities dedicated to defense activities.[27] This classification facilitates retrieval and standardization, with each feature assigned a unique identifier, coordinates, and variant names where applicable, ensuring comprehensive coverage of named entities while prioritizing federally recognized official names over local variants unless historically significant.[4]Populated Places and Cultural Features
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) categorizes populated places as named communities characterized by clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population, encompassing entities such as cities, settlements, towns, and villages.[27] These features typically lack formal incorporation and defined legal boundaries, relying instead on subjective delineations based on common perception, though they may align with corresponding records in the civil feature class for incorporated equivalents.[2] For instance, a record for "Denver" exists as a populated place to represent the metropolitan area beyond strict municipal limits, distinct from the "City of Denver" civil entry.[2] Populated places form a core subset of GNIS's domestic geographic features, supporting applications in mapping and census data integration where unincorporated communities require standardized naming.[4] Cultural features in GNIS historically encompassed a broad array of man-made structures and sites tied to human activity, including churches, cemeteries, schools, hospitals, parks, post offices, and locales, which were documented alongside natural and populated elements to provide comprehensive geographic reference.[28] These entries captured fixed, named installations without inherent population clusters, aiding in historical and administrative locational data.[16] However, in 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey removed numerous administrative and man-made cultural feature classes from the database, such as airports, bridges, buildings, cemeteries, churches, dams, hospitals, mines, oilfields, parks, post offices, reservoirs, schools, springs, towers, trails, and wells, to streamline focus toward natural features and reduce redundancy with other National Map themes.[2] Post-2021, retained cultural elements are limited, primarily including canals—defined as man-made waterways for navigation, drainage, irrigation, or power—and select channels or reservoirs where not fully excised, maintaining utility for hydrological and infrastructural naming without overlapping volunteer-maintained datasets.[4] This shift reflects ongoing refinement to prioritize authoritative, enduring geographic identifiers over transient or densely administrative ones.[2]Historical, Variant, and International Names
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) records variant names for domestic geographic features, defined as non-official designations—including historical, local, or alternative forms—by which a feature is or was known from authoritative sources.[4][2] Each feature entry permits only one official name, with variants listed separately to support historical research, cartographic consistency, and cross-referencing in federal applications.[2] These variants often derive from outdated maps, settler records, or regional dialects, enabling users to trace naming evolution without altering the standardized official form.[4] Historical names for extant features are systematically classified as variants, capturing prior official or prevalent usages to maintain continuity in geographic scholarship.[2] For defunct features—such as ghost towns abandoned after resource depletion, shoals eroded by coastal storms, summits flattened by mining operations, or settlements flooded by dam-created reservoirs—GNIS designates entries as "historical," retaining their names without implying viability or scale.[29] This approach, implemented since the database's core development in the 1970s and refined through subsequent phases, ensures over one million feature records include such archival data for applications like environmental impact assessments and historical GIS overlays.[2] International names within GNIS extend to U.S. associated areas (e.g., territories like Guam or Puerto Rico) and Antarctic features, where variants may incorporate indigenous, colonial, or non-English linguistic elements.[4] The database employs the Unicode Standard to encode diacritics, accents, and scripts from diverse languages, facilitating accurate representation of names like Native American terms in Alaska or Spanish-origin variants in the Southwest.[2] For Antarctica, GNIS aligns with U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) decisions, often coordinating with international entities such as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) to standardize romanized or conventional forms for federal mapping and scientific exchange, though primary foreign place-name standardization occurs via the parallel Geographic Names Server (GNS).[1] This integration supports global interoperability while prioritizing U.S. domestic and territorial nomenclature uniformity.[4]Administration and Processes
U.S. Board on Geographic Names Role
The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), established by Executive Order in 1890 and codified under federal law, serves as the central federal authority for standardizing geographic names across U.S. government agencies, ensuring uniformity in mapping, publications, and data systems.[8] In relation to the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the BGN holds ultimate decision-making authority over the approval, revision, or rejection of domestic geographic feature names, acting through its Domestic Names Committee (DNC) to evaluate proposals based on principles such as historical precedence, local usage, and avoidance of redundancy.[4] The BGN's decisions define the official names entered into GNIS, which functions as the sole federal repository for these standardized entries, containing over 2.5 million records as of recent updates.[1] The BGN's role extends to resolving naming disputes, often in coordination with state geographic names authorities, federal agencies, and local stakeholders, by applying policies that prioritize evidence-based determinations like long-standing local acceptance or documented historical usage over unsubstantiated claims.[30] For instance, the BGN reviews proposals for new names or changes, requiring submissions via formal channels that include supporting documentation, and issues binding decisions that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) then incorporates into GNIS updates, typically within quarterly releases.[4] This process ensures GNIS reflects BGN-promulgated standards, prohibiting unofficial variants from being designated as primary in federal products unless explicitly approved.[7] While the USGS maintains the technical infrastructure and data integrity of GNIS under a cooperative agreement with the BGN, the Board retains oversight to prevent inconsistencies, such as duplicative names for distinct features, and mandates that all federal entities reference GNIS for locative attributes tied to official names.[3] The BGN's policies explicitly state that GNIS entries bearing a "BGN decision date" indicate formal Board approval, distinguishing them from provisional or historical data, thereby upholding causal accountability in name standardization to support reliable geospatial applications.[30]Name Proposal, Review, and Approval Mechanisms
Proposals for new geographic names or changes to existing ones in the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) are submitted to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) through its Domestic Names Committee (DNC). Proponents, which may include individuals, local governments, or organizations, must use the official Domestic Geographic Name Proposal Form, available from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website. Submissions require detailed information on the proposed name, precise location coordinates (obtained via the GNIS search tool), evidence of local usage or support (such as maps, historical documents, or letters from stakeholders), and justification for the change, including any commemorative intent. For name changes, a compelling reason is required, such as long-standing local preference overriding historical usage; proposals lacking completeness or evidence are rejected outright.[31][30] Upon receipt, BGN staff conduct a preliminary review to verify the proposal's adherence to policies, check for existing GNIS entries, and prepare a case brief. Accepted proposals are posted on the public Quarterly Review List on the BGN website, soliciting input from state geographic names authorities, federally recognized Tribes (especially for features on or near Tribal lands), relevant federal agencies, and the general public. This consultation phase assesses factors like prevalent local usage, historical precedence, cultural significance, and compliance with BGN principles, such as prohibiting derogatory terms or commercial endorsements and requiring at least five years since the death of any commemorated individual. Proposals for features in wilderness areas or on Tribal Trust lands face heightened scrutiny, often requiring explicit tribal consent or demonstrated necessity. The process typically spans at least six months, with proponents expected to respond to inquiries.[32][31][30] The DNC, composed of federal representatives from departments including Interior, Agriculture, and Defense, convenes monthly to deliberate on proposals via docketed cases. Decisions are made by simple majority vote, guided by principles prioritizing contemporary local naming conventions while preserving historical variants in GNIS, ensuring one official name per feature, and deferring to legislative or executive designations. Approved names are recorded in GNIS within three days and promulgated as official for federal mapping and publications; disapprovals are documented in meeting minutes with reasons provided to proponents, who may resubmit revised proposals. All DNC decisions undergo review and concurrence by the Secretary of the Interior before finalization, rendering them binding on federal entities under 43 U.S.C. § 364, though states and private entities may adopt them voluntarily.[30][7][30]Coordination with Other Authorities
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) coordinates closely with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), which serves as the federal policy-setting body for domestic geographic naming under Public Law 80-242, to ensure standardized name usage across federal mapping and publications. The BGN reviews and approves name proposals, while GNIS, maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), functions as the official federal repository for these decisions, incorporating approved names into its database for public and governmental access. This partnership involves routine data entry by GNIS staff of BGN rulings, including updates for new features or name changes, to maintain the system's status as the authoritative source for over 2.5 million domestic entries as of 2023.[1][25][8] GNIS also collaborates with state geographic names authorities, of which nearly all 50 states and several territories maintain dedicated bodies to handle local name research and proposals. These state entities, such as the North Carolina Board on Geographic Names, forward recommendations to the BGN for federal-level review when consistency across state lines or federal involvement is required, ensuring alignment between local preferences and national standards. For instance, state authorities contribute data on cultural and physical features within their jurisdictions, which GNIS integrates after BGN validation, fostering partnerships that enhance data accuracy for features like populated places and hydrographic elements.[33][34][35] Additional coordination occurs with other federal agencies, Tribal governments, and local entities through a broad partnership model that supplies input to GNIS for emergency response, GIS applications, and mapping products. The BGN acts as a conduit for these inputs, resolving conflicts via advisory committees that include representatives from agencies like the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, prioritizing evidence-based decisions from primary sources such as historical records and local consultations. This multi-level process, outlined in BGN principles, avoids unilateral changes and emphasizes verifiable documentation to uphold name stability.[8][36][30]Technical Features and Accessibility
Database Architecture and Data Standards
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) structures its data as a collection of feature records, each identified by a unique permanent FEATURE_ID conforming to ANSI INCITS 446-2008 standards for geographic identifiers.[37] Core attributes include the official feature_name (up to 120 characters), feature_class for categorization, state and county identifiers (using INCITS 38-2009 for states and INCITS 31-2009 for counties), primary latitude and longitude in both decimal degrees and degrees-minutes-seconds formats, USGS topographic map_name, dates of creation and editing, Board on Geographic Names (BGN) decision details (bgn_type, bgn_authority, bgn_date), and descriptive fields for description and history (up to 3000 characters each).[37] Additional fields cover administrative codes such as census_code, gsa_code, and country abbreviations per GENC standards, enabling relational linkages across datasets.[37]| Field Example | Description | Standard/Reference |
|---|---|---|
| FEATURE_ID | Unique numeric identifier | ANSI INCITS 446-2008[37] |
| PRIM_LAT_DEC, PRIM_LONG_DEC | Primary coordinates in decimal degrees (NAD83 datum) | NAD83 geographic coordinate system[37] |
| FEATURE_CLASS | Type classification (e.g., "Stream", "Populated Place") | BGN-defined codes with 43 classes[27] |
| STATE_ALPHA | Three-letter state abbreviation | INCITS 38-2009[37] |