GEOGRAPHIC NAMES 

G EOGRAPHIC NAMES are the proper names of 

particular Earth features, places, and landmarks. 

They identify areas of cultural and administrative 

responsibility, define political boundaries, and provide 

legal evidence of property, mineral, and water rights. 

The Geological Survey, therefore, is obliged professionally and legally to use official names in all its 

publications and on all its maps. The choice, form, 

spelling, and application of official place names for 

Federal usage are determined by the U.S. Board on 

Geographic Names. 

THE U.S. BOARD ON 

Established in 1890, the U.S. Board on Geographic 

Names was organized in its present form by public 

law in 1947. Its mission is to serve the Federal Government and the general public as a central authority 

for solving problems, making decisions, and answering 

inquiries about geographic names. Any person or 

organization, public or private, may request the Board 

to decide formally on new names, name changes, or 

conflicting names. 

The Board is composed of representatives from 

several Federal agencies, and it shares its responsibilities with the Secretary of the Interior. It is 

authorized to establish and maintain uniform 

geographic-name usage throughout the Federal 

Government. It formulates principles and policies 

governing the use of foreign and domestic names and 

names of undersea and extraterrestrial features. 

Geographic names normally originate in and are 

influenced by spoken language. This fact is important 

because the Board is concerned mostly with written 

forms of names, including matters of spelling, capitalization, word form, and writing marks that have little 

to do with spoken language. 

Most geographic names are binomial in that they 

have two parts, denoting species and genus: Middleton (Middletown), Coal Hollow, or Sierra Nevada. The 

generic part tells the kind of place, feature, or area 

the name refers to, and the specific part modifies or 

uniquely identifies the particular place, feature, or 

area. The generic part of the name is usually a single 

topographic term such as brook, hill, bay, peak, mesa, 

or lake; the specific part may consist of one or more 

words such as Grosse Roche, Jenny Lind Run, and 

Casale Campo di Carne. The binomial form is strong 

and in written usage may lead to combining specific 

parts of the name, such as Threemile Run and Redhill 

Gulch. The names of some features can be long, especially if the specific part is a prepositional phrase: 

Cliffs of the Seven Double Pillars, Foot of the Mountains Run, and Caiion del Rajadero de 10s Negros. 

Some names have unique generic forms; consider, 

for example, colorful American names like Bald Alley 

(ridge), Butlers Toothpick (pinnacle rock), Titans 

Piazza (hill), and Devils Racepath (ridge). Variations 

of the binomial form are one-word names that require 

a capitalized article: The Bend, La Pica, The cape, 

The Nose, and The Maze. 

Single-word specific names such as Boston, Oalite, 

and Pinhook are common for populated places and 

civil divisions; the kind of feature meant is implied by 

sentence context. 

Several names with the same generic word may be 

treated as a group in text with the generic word 

capitalized and in plural form: Calumet, Manitowoc, 

and Sheboygan Counties; Wisconsin and Illinois 

Rivers. 

The National Geographic Names Data Base is managed by the Geographic Names Information System 

(GNIS). The system currently has more than 2 million 

name records in the data base. These records include 

the names of natural features, populated places, civil 

divisions, areas and regions, and culture features such 

as mines, churches, schools, cemeteries, hospitals, 

dams, airports, and shopping centers. Official names 

are appropriately identified in the data base, which 

also includes records of named features not under the 

purview of the Board on Geographic Names. Each 

record includes the following information: 

Written form of the official or primary name. 

Term identifying the kind of named feature. 

Location and, if applicable, extent of feature by 

geographical coordinates. 

Map on which feature can be located. 

Geographic names 
Elevation of feature, when appropriate. 

Official or nonofficial status of name and application (not all names in the data base are official). 

Variant names and spellings for the same feature. 

Information from the data base can be retrieved, 

analyzed, and organized. Geological Survey personnel 

may access GNIS through the Earth Sciences Information Network (ESIN) or may request special 

searches and printouts from: 

Manager, GNIS, National Center, Reston, 

Virginia. 

Earth Science Information Center offices. 

The Board on Geographic Names is guided by the 

following principles in determining official names of 

places, features, and areas in the United States and 

its territories: 

Use of the Roman alphabet. Official domestic 

geographic names are written in the Roman 

alphabet as normally used in the English language. Exceptions are occasionally made for 

Spanish and French names that have diacritical 

marks (see "Diacritical Marks in Domestic 

Names"). Names written in other forms of the 

Roman alphabet and in other alphabetical scripts 

may be used in parentheses after the official 

name. 

Names in local usage. The underlying philosophy of the Board for establishing official geographic names and their applications recognizes 

present-day local usage or preferences, except 

when local spoken or written usage conflicts with 

specific Board policy or when the preferences of 

State or local governmental authorities disagree 

with local usage. Where local usage is weak or 

conflicting, well-established, documented names 

and names with historical significance receive 

strong consideration. 

Names established by act of Congress. Geographic names and their applications specifically 

established by an act of Congress are official by 

law. Geographic names used incidentally in the 

language of an act of Congress enacted for other 

purposes are not necessarily official, unless the 

language clearly indicates that naming is part of 

the intent of the act. 

4. Names established by other authorities. The 

Board on Geographic Names normally accepts 

as official the names of political subdivisions, 

bounded administrative areas, structures, and 

establishments in the United States and its territories, as determined by the appropriate respon 

sible public or private authorities. 

5. One name for one geographic entity. The 

Board will identlfy one name, spelling, and application as official for a geographic entity in the 

United States, its territories, and outlying areas. 

For certain entities, a shortened version of the 

official name also may be authorized for use in 

Federal publications; for example, State of Wisconsin and Wisconsin; New York City and 

New York. 

Geographic names, like other proper names, are not 

subject to the spelling rules that apply to other words 

in the English language. The Board establishes standard spellings of geographic names in the United 

States for use by the Federal Government. Although 

these spellings generally conform to rules of English, 

they reflect historical spellings or forms commonly 

used or preferred by local citizens and may, therefore, 

include what appear to be grammatically incorrect, 

misspelled, improperly combined, or clipped words. 

Only official domestic geographic names will be 

used on Federal maps and in other publications. An 

official name is one in which the written form of that 

name and its application to the appropriate place, 

feature, or area are approved by the Board on Geographic Names. The primary reference for official 

names and their applications is GNIS. Names not in 

GNIS or not identified as official in GNIS must be 

submitted to the Board for approval before they can 

be used for Federal publication. 

This procedure does not apply to the names of 

offices or establishments of governmental agencies or 

to the names of certain manmade features such as 

streets, roads, shopping centers, churches, schools, 

hospitals, and airports (see principle 4) or to those 

names used for historical reference or other similar 

situations in which the geographic names are not 

intended to represent current official usage. 

84 Geographic names 
Name problems and proposals submitted to the 

Board are researched individually by the Geological 

Survey support staff and are put on a monthly docket 

list for consideration by the Domestic Names Committee. Each list is sent to cooperating Federal and State 

agencies and to interested organizations and individuals about a month before the meeting at which the 

list is to be considered. Reviewing the merits of each 

case, the Committee decides between conflicting 

names and approves or disapproves proposed new 

names and name changes. Some actions are deferred 

temporarily to allow more time for State and local 

response or to get more information needed for a 

decision. A record of the decisions at each monthly 

meeting is submitted to the Secretary of the Interior 

for review. Decisions of the Domestic Names Committee automatically become decisions of the Board on 

Geographic Names and are published in a quarterly 

decision list. 

For uniformity in the decision-making process and 

to assist in national standardization, the Board on 

Geographic Names has policies and procedures that 

deal with particular naming problems or issues. The 

selected policies that follow are particularly relevant 

to the activities of the Survey. (A complete, up-to-date 

set of domestic name policies, with guidelines, may be 

obtained from the executive secretary for Domestic 

Geographic Names, care of 523 National Mapping 

Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 22092). 

When a name is proposed for an unnamed domestic 

feature, a report on the new name must be submitted 

to the Board for approval before publication of the 

document that uses the name. Proposed new names 

should be unique and euphonious, if possible, and not 

unduly long or clumsy. They should be acceptable to 

local citizens and should not be controversial. Indian 

or other ethnic names, if appropriate, and names 

suggested by local history or by a peculiarity of the 

topographic feature, such as form, vegetation, or 

associated animal life, are generally acceptable. Commonly duplicated words like elk, bald, mud, duck, 

round, or cottonwood should be avoided. The generic 

part of the name should conform with names common 

to the area, and the relational naming of forks, 

prongs, and branches of streams or canyons, such as 

East Fork or Middle Prong, should be avoided if 

possible, though such names sometimes need to be 

given to conform to existing relational names. 

New-name proposals for features in national parks 

and wilderness areas should be coordinated with park 

or wilderness supervisors before being submitted to 

the Board. The number and kind of new names 

approved for such features is restricted. 

The following information should accompany new 

names submitted to the Board: 

Full name being proposed. 

Location and clear identification of feature. 

Reason for needing a name. 

Origin or meaning of proposed name. 

The Board on Geographic Names will consider 

proposals to assign the names of deceased persons to 

geographic features in the United States and its territories. The Board will not consider names that commemorate or may be construed to commemorate 

living persons. In addition, a person must have been 

deceased for at least 1 year before a commemorative 

proposal will be formally considered. The person 

should have had some direct association with the 

feature or should have made a sigmficant contribution 

to the area or State in which it is located. A proposal 

commemorating an individual with an outstanding 

national or international reputation will be considered 

even if the person was not directly associated with 

the geographic feature. 

A person's death, as in a mountaineering accident 

or a plane crash on or at a feature, or the mere 

ownership of land or the feature, does not normally 

meet the "direct association" criterion. 

A proposal to commemorate an individual should 

contain evidence of local support for the proposed 

name and its application. Such evidence may be in the 

form of letters from local residents and administrative 

agencies or petitions containing original signatures of 

local citizens. 

If the name being proposed commemorates a person, the following additional information is needed: 

Full name of the person. 

Birth and death dates (years). 

Person's title and profession or occupation. 

Person's association with the feature or area. 

A short biography of the person is useful, and an 

annotated map showing the location and extent of the 

feature is helpful. Because the Board works closely 

with interested Federal and State agencies, State geographic boards, and local citizens before deciding on a 

name, final action on a proposal may take from 3 to 

6 months. 

Geographic names policies 85 
The Board will consider proposals for changing 

names, but it does not encourage changes in domestic 

names except where official Federal usage disagrees 

with well-established local usage or where existing 

names are derogatory or are duplicated. The reason 

for change should always be stated when a proposal is 

submitted to the Board. Information should include 

the identity of the feature, the origin or meaning of 

the new name, and the possible response of local 

citizens to the name change. 

LONG AND SHORT FORMS OF NAMES 

According to principle 5, the Board identifies one 

name, form, spelling, and application when adopting 

an official domestic geographic name. All other forms 

or spellings of the same name, or other names for the 

same entity, are considered variant names and are 

not official for Federal use. Two exceptions relate to 

name forms: The Board allows optional use of long or 

short forms for incorporated places and political divisions (New York or New York City, Virginia or the 

Commonwealth of Virginia). The second exception 

permits the omission in text of the generic parts of 

names of a few classes of natural features such as 

rivers, oceans, and deserts. These names in sentence 

context are normally preceded by the uncapitalized 

definite article; for instance, the full specific-generic 

forms of such names are shown on maps (Potomac 

River, Mojave Desert, and Atlantic Ocean), but the 

author may drop the generic part in sentence context 

and refer to "the Potomac," "the Mojave," and "the 

Atlantic." When first used in text, or when its name 

could be misunderstood, the full name of the feature 

should be used. 

The Board does not allow the use of an official 

name in parentheses, but a variant name in parentheses may be used with an official name if needed 

for clarity or reference. For example: Echo Park 

(Pats Hole). The independent use of any name other 

than the official name is not approved. 

Use of a variant name in parentheses following an 

official name on a Federal map or in a report is at 

the discretion of the author and the issuing agency. 

On a map, a parenthetical name may appear either 

following the official name or below it. It should 

always be clear which name is the official one. 

Names using special symbols to indicate glottal 

stops and stress, such as those derived from the 

Hawaiian language, are considered to be variant 

names, and each may be used in parentheses after the 

official name on maps or in text. The Board does not 

object to the listing of such variant names alone in a 

tabular or dictionary format to convey such special 

information as pronunciation, name origin, or word 

meaning. A statement can be made explaining the 

purpose of the table or dictionary and why the listed 

names vary from official names. 

For domestic geographic names, the Board will not 

adopt a name for Federal usage that is derogatory to 

a particular ethnic group, religion, or class of people, 

even if the name is used locally. Other unseemly 

names are unacceptable also. 

Diacritical marks are rarely used in English, but 

they are common in many other languages, including 

Spanish and French, from which many place names 

in the United States are derived. Most geographic 

names adopted from these languages have been 

assimilated into English usage and therefore lack the 

diacritical marks that were included in the original 

spelling. In some places in the United States, however, especially where Spanish or French is still 

spoken, local custom may indicate that diacritical 

marks should be used. Diacriticals are important if 

their omission would cause a significant change in the 

meaning of the name in the parent language. Diacritical marks, however, are officially excluded in a few 

names such as Canon City in Colorado (not Caiion 

City). 

The presence of diacritical marks will not necessarily bar approval of a geographic name; each such 

name is considered individually. A spelling that includes diacritical marks will be approved if, in the 

judgment of the Board, substantial evidence such as 

official records, maps, and signs indicates active local 

use in the area where the feature exists. 

The Board does not approve for Federal publications the use of writing marks in the written forms 

of geographic names derived from the Hawaiian and 

native American languages. Names using special 

marks not normally found in the English language are 

considered variant names (see principle 1). 

Name duplication means that two or more nearby 

places or features of the same kind have the same 

86 Proposing name changes 
name in local or published usage. Name duplication 

does not exist when places or features of different 

kinds have the same name, such as a stream called 

Long Creek and a village called Longcreek or Long 

Creek. 

Names proposed for unnamed geographic features 

that duplicate another name in the State, or nearby in 

an adjoining State, will not normally be approved. 

The Board on Geographic Names encourages State 

and local governments and local citizens to change or 

modify duplicate names wherever ambiguity is likely. 

Such name changes should be coordinated with the 

Board. 

The Board normally does not initiate name changes 

to eliminate duplication. If duplication in Federal 

publications might cause confusion, the Board may 

add a modifier such as "East," "North," "South," 

"West," "Big," "Little," "Upper," "Lower," or 

"Middle" to one or more of the duplicate names. 

This option would be coordinated with State 

geographic names authorities. In States that lack 

an authority, the Board ties to work with appropriate local governments and citizens to promote an 

interest in eliminating the duplication. A name submitted as an alternative to a duplicate name should 

conform to the policy for naming an unnamed 

feature. 

Punctuation marks such as hyphens and apostrophes are used occasionally in domestic geographic 

names. Usage varies, and care should be taken to use 

the standard form for a particular feature. Hyphens 

are sometimes used in names consisting of a phrase 

(Hole-in-the-Wall, Go-to-it Creek, Be-Cha-Tu-Da Draw) 

and in names having a dual-form specific (ClarkMallard Ditch, Alma-Cassville Trail). 

Apostrophes suggesting possession or association 

are not used within the body of a proper name (Pikes 

Peak, Henrys Fork). The word or words that form a 

geographic name change their function and together 

become a single denotative unit. The need to imply 

possession or association does not exist. Thus, we 

write "Jamestown" instead of "James' town" or even 

"Richardsons Creek" instead of "Richard's son's 

creek." "Martha's Vineyard" is a longstanding exception. The whole name can be made possessive or associative with an apostrophe at the end as in "Rogers 

Point's rocky shore." Apostrophes also are often used 

within the body of a geographic name to denote a 

missing letter (Lake 0' the Woods) or when they 

normally exist in a surname used as part of a 

geographic name (O'Malley Hollow). 

ABBREVIATIONS AND NUMBER NAMES 

Names of States can be abbreviated according to 

standards of STA 7 @. 104). Other geographic names 

are not abbreviated in sentence context except that 

"Mount" and "Saint(e)" may be abbreviated as "Mt." 

and "St(e)." On maps and other illustrations, the 

generic part of a name and also a few modifiers may 

be abbreviated ("Middle," "North," "South," "Left," 

"Right," "Saint(e),"), but if space is available, they 

are better spelled out. The specific part of a 

geographic name may not be abbreviated even 

in illustrations. 

Except as rarely approved, numbers in names 

should be spelled out (Arabic numerals are number 

symbols, not words): 

Fortynine and One Half Creek 

Fourmile Run 

With few exceptions, all words considered part of a 

proper geographic name are capitalized, including all 

adjectives, common nouns, and the definite article: 

Adams Apple 

Alva B. Adams Tunnel 

Big Hill 

Big Hole Basin 

Cuchilla Buena Vista 

Dark Hollow Brook 

Farm River Gut 

Lac Arnois 

Little Captain Island 

Los Caiios 

Old Fundamental Church 

Pee Dee Ditch 

The Crooked Esses 

The Hogback 

Upper Sulphur Creek 

West Side Pond 

Exceptions to the rule of capitalization include 

articles and prepositions within multiple-word names: 

Alto de la Cruz Posta de Roque 

Caiiada de Ojo del Agua Red River of the North 

Fond du Lac Rock of Ages 

Gap in Knob Scarce of Fat Ridge 

Lake of the Ozarks Spread Eagle Chain of 

Lakes 

As noted earlier, when the generic part of a name 

is purposely omitted, as in "the Potomac," "the 

Mojave," and "the Atlantic," the definite article preceding the specific name is not capitalized. Proper 

names of geographical entities, such as regions, political divisions, populated places, localities, and physical 

features, including marine, are capitalized in both the 

singular and the plural: 

Capitalization of geographic names 87 
Allegheny Front 

Andromeda Cone 

Atlantic Coastal Plain 

Bach Seamount 

Bighorn Basin 

Blue Ridge 

Brady Soil 

Canal Zone 

Central States 

Catahoula Parish 

Colorado Plateau 

Colville Guide Meridian 

Continental Divide 

Continental Rise 

Continental Shelf 

Dennison Township 

Driftless Area 

Eastern Shore 

Fall Line 

Fall Zone 

Far East (Asia) 

Front Range 

Grand Banks 

Great Lakes 

Gulf States 

Half Dome 

High Plains 

Isle of Pines 

Lower Town Landing 

Mariana Trench 

Middle Atlantic States 

Monarch Geyser 

Mount Rainier 

Niagara Falls 

North Atlantic States 

North Slope 

Outer Continental Shelf 

Pacific Coast States 

Pine Ridge Reservation 

Potomac and James 

Rivers 

St. Stephens Base Line 

San Joaquin Valley 

Second Principal Meridian 

Skvline Drive 

The Chute 

Tidal Basin 

Upper Peninsula 

U.S. Gulf Coast 

White Pass Recreation 

Area 

West Coast (of the 

United States) 

Western States 

A descriptive term used consistently to denote a 

definite region, locality, or geographic feature is a 

proper name and is therefore capitalized (Eastern 

United States, Continental Divide); also for temporary 

distinction, a coined name of a region is capitalized; 

for example, Far Western States. (See U.S. GPO 

Style Manual, 1984, rule 3.21.) 

Quallfylng words used in a general sense for parts 

of named areas are not capitalized. Care should be 

taken to prevent misunderstanding; for example, 

"western Virginia" or "the western part of Virginia" 

is preferable to "west Virginia." However, local 

residents and news media may consistently use a 

qualifying word to modify the meaning of an existing 

geographic name in reference to a part of a State or 

other area. The modifying word then may become 

part of the proper name, to be uniformly capitalized 

with the rest of the name: 

East Tennessee South Mississippi 

Greater New York (City) South Pacific (Ocean) 

North Atlantic (Ocean) Upstate New York 

NAMES OF REGIONS, LOCALITIES, 

AND GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES 

To repeat for emphasis, a descriptive term used to 

denote a definite region, locality, or geographic feature is a proper name and is therefore capitalized; 

also, for temporary distinction, a coined name of a 

region is capitalized. 

the North Atlantic States; the Gulf States; the Central States; the Pacific Coast States; the Lake 

States; East North-Central States; Eastern NorthCentral States; Far Western States; Eastern 

United States 

the West; the Midwest; the Middle West; Far West; 

the East (United States) 

the Eastern Shore (Chesapeake Bay) 

the Badlands (South Dakota and North Dakota) 

the Continental Divide (Rocky Mountains) 

Deep South; Midsouth 

Cape Hatteras Recreational Area; but Silvertip Mine 

area 

the Occident; the Orient 

the Far East; Far Eastern; the East 

Middle East, Middle Eastern, Mideast, Mideastern 

(Asia) 

Near East (Balkans) 

the Promised Land 

the Continent (continental Europe) 

the Western Hemisphere 

the North Pole; the North and South Poles 

the Temperate Zone; the Torrid Zone 

the ~ast Side, Lower East Side 

but lower 48 (States); the Northeast Corridor; 

Hollidaysburg quadrangle 

A descriptive term used to denote mere direction or 

position is not a proper name and therefore is not 

capitalized: 

north; south; east; west 

northerly; northern; northward 

eastern; oriental; occidental 

east Pennsylvania; southern California 

northern Virginia 

west Florida; but West Florida (1763-1819) 

eastern region; western region 

north-central region 

east coast; eastern seaboard 

central Europe; south Germany; southern France 

The terms "province" and "section" are regarded 

as common nouns by the Government Printing Office 

Names of regions, localities, and geographic features 
and are not capitalized in the GPO Style Manual, but specific physiographic entities and, therefore, are 

as listed below, they are used consistently to refer to proper names and should be capitalized. (See p. 271.: 

Physical divisions of the United States 
Formal geologic-time and stratigraphic units are 

considered to have proper names, and the usual rules 

of capitalization apply. (For rules governing usage of 

these units see "Stratigraphic Nomenclature and 

Description.") Between strictly geographic and strictly geologic terminologies lie many named features 

that have both geographic and geologic significance. 

Names of such features, if used consistently to refer 

to specific entities, may be regarded as proper names 

and should be capitalized: 

Book Cliffs Coal Field Lillie Belle Prospect 

Killarney Claim Matchless Mine 

Many geologic, nonstratigraphic terms that have 

geographic significance are widely viewed as proper 

names and are capitalized routinely in technical journals, in professional society guidebooks, and in the 

popular media. 

If a geographic name is linked consistently to a 

specific nonstratigraphic feature, the combined name 

should be regarded as a proper name and both parts 

should be capitalized. Not to do so may confuse the 

intended meaning (Blackadar and others, 1980, p. 35). 

STA 7 continues to support such usage, following the 

lead of STA 6. A few examples: 

Cincinnati Arch Teapot Dome 

Sunset Crater Rangely Anticline 

Mother Lode Golden Fault 

Nacimiento Uplift Wyoming-Utah Thrust Belt 

Uinta Basin Mount Taylor Volcanic Field 

Terms for areas of indefinite extent or context, and 

ordinary generic terms, are generally not capitalized: 

ABC mining district Taconic region 

Lexington area of Kentucky Uravan mineral belt 

Livengood gold placer deposit 

Foreign names are handled by the Foreign Names 

Committee of the Board on Geographic Names, which 

is supported by an executive secretary and staff furnished by the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense 

Mapping Agency. The basic policy for determining 

standard names in foreign countries that use the 

Roman alphabet is to accept as official the written 

forms of names recognized locally. Names in countries 

that do not use the Roman alphabet are converted 

according to standard guides. The Board cooperates 

with agencies of foreign governments and with the 

United Nations to standardize foreign names for U.S. 

Government use. 

Some diacritical marks (p. 105) may be essential to 

the spelling and form of official foreign names. These 

marks should be used as specified by the Board. The 

official standard forms of foreign names have been 

published by the Board in more than 100 gazetteers. 

Copies are in the U.S. Geological Survey libraries in 

Reston, Va., Denver, Colo., and Menlo Park, Calif., 

and also in more than 600 Federal, State, university, 

and local libraries. Readers are encouraged to report 

errors in the gazetteers to the Executive Secretary, 

Foreign Geographic Names (address below). The 

source of the correction should be identified. 

For names of foreign countries, for features such as 

large bodies of water outside national boundaries, and 

for a few populated areas and natural features in foreign countries, the Board also has approved optional 

use of names that are conventional with Englishspeaking nations: "Jordan River (Mahr al Urdunn)," 

"Rome (Roma)." 

The Board has published both a "Romanization 

Guide" and a "Conventional Names Gazetteer." 

Requests for these books, and inquiries concerning 

foreign gazetteers and foreign place names, including 

those of undersea and extraterrestrial features and 

Antarctica, should be addressed to Executive Secretary, Foreign Geographic Names, U.S. Board on 

Geographic Names, Defense Mapping Agency, 

Washington, DC 20305. 

90 Geographic-geologic names