what is a gnis id
Geographic Terms and Concepts - Geographic Names Information System Identifier The Geographic Names Information System Identifier (GNIS ID) is a variable length, permanent, numeric identifier of up to ten digits in length that identifies each entity uniquely within the nation. The GNIS is the new American National Standards Institute (ANSI) national standard code for several entity types. Because each entity's GNIS ID is permanent, it will not change if the entity changes its name or if creation of a new entity changes the alphabetic sort.