U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2009–3016 

Revised May 2012

The National Map—Geographic Names

Printed on recycled paper

feature names from 1:24,000-scale topographic maps published 

by the USGS and the U.S. Forest Service and from charts of 

the National Ocean Service. Phase Two is a long-term project 

to gather additional names from state and local materials and a 

variety of historical documents. This phase is accomplished 

on a state-by-state basis and has recently been completed (February, 2012). Ongoing stewardship agreements are in place to 

continually update the data in many states.

Responses to special requests for GNIS digital reports are 

available through customized files. Standard state and territory 

digital gazetteers also are available for download at the GNIS 

Web site 

http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/download_data.htm. Special 

topical files are available at this site and include Populated 

Places (all populated place records in the GNIS), Concise 

(major features) and Historical (features that no longer exist).

The BGN research files currently are being scanned. When 

completed, the files will be attached as PDF documents to the 

appropriate GNIS entry and will be viewable online in late 

2009. 

Partnership Opportunities 

Organizations interested in partnering with the USGS to 

compile and maintain geographic names data for The National 

Map should contact the USGS geospatial liaison in their State. 

The list of geospatial liaisons is available at http://nationalmap.

gov/tnm_partnerships.html. 

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), 

developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains 

information about the official names for places, features, and 

areas in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the territories 

and outlying areas of the United States, including Antarctica. It 

is the geographic names component of The National Map. The 

BGN maintains working relationships with State names authorities to cooperate in achieving the standardization of geographic 

names.

The GNIS contains records on more than 2 million geographic names in the United States—from populated places, 

schools, reservoirs, and parks to streams, valleys, springs, 

ridges, and every feature type except roads and highways. 

Entries include information such as the federally recognized 

name and variant names and spellings for the feature; former 

names; the status of the name as determined by the BGN; 

county or counties in which each named feature is located; 

geographic coordinates that locate the approximate center of an 

aerial feature or the mouth and source of a linear feature, such 

as a stream; name of the cell of the USGS topographic map 

or maps on which the feature may appear; elevation figures 

derived from the National Elevation Dataset; bibliographic code 

for the source of the name; BGN decision dates and historical information are available for some features. Data from the 

GNIS are used for emergency preparedness, mapmaking, local 

and regional planning, service delivery routing, marketing, site 

selection, environmental analysis, genealogical research, and 

other applications.

Data Availability

Data for each State or territory are compiled in two phases. 

Phase One, which is complete, entailed the collection of most 

Webster Groves, MO-IL 7.5 Minute Topographic Map without 

Geographic Names (left) and with Geographic Names (right)
The Nation Needs The National Map

As one of the cornerstones of the U.S. 

Geological Survey’s (USGS) National 

Geospatial Program, The National Map

is a collaborative effort among the USGS 

and other Federal, state, local, and Tribal 

partners to improve and deliver topographic 

information for the Nation. The National 

Map has many uses ranging from recreation 

to scientific analysis to emergency response. 

The National Map is easily accessible for 

display on the Web, as products and services, 

and as downloadable data. The geographic 

information available from The National Map

includes orthoimagery (aerial photographs), 

elevation, geographic names, hydrography, 

boundaries, transportation, structures, 

and land cover. Other types of geographic 

information can be added within the viewer 

or brought in with The National Map data 

into a Geographic Information System to 

create specific types of maps or map views. 

The National Map is a significant 

contribution to the National Spatial Data 

Infrastructure (NSDI) and provides high 

quality, integrated geospatial data and 

improved products and services including 

new generation digital topographic maps. 

The National Map also is foundational to 

implementation of the Department of the 

Interior (DOI) Geospatial Modernization 

Blueprint and meeting the DOI mission. The 

National Map underpins the USGS Science 

Strategy, which is based on a systems 

approach to help address multi-faceted 

issues, provide better understanding of earth 

processes, and evaluate broad causes and 

consequences of the use and management 

of natural resources. The National Map

promotes this type of interdisciplinary 

science by providing nationally consistent, 

trusted geospatial data and establishing a 

consistent national geographic context.

GNIS Manager

U.S. Geological Survey

523 National Center

Reston, VA 20192

Phone: 703-648-4552

Fax: 703-648-4549

E-mail: GNIS_manager@usgs.gov

The address for the GNIS home page is http://geonames.usgs.gov/.

You can view and download more information about The National 

Map at http://nationalmap.gov/.

For information on other USGS products and services, call 

1-888-ASK-USGS or visit the general interest publications Web site 

on maps, imagery, and publications at 

http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/.

For additional information, visit the http://ask.usgs.gov/.

Web site or the USGS home page at http://www.usgs.gov/.

 Further Information

For more information on the GNIS or on 

individual State and territory database 

file status, contact:

Publishing support provided by:

Rolla Publishing Service Center