Using the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the federal repository of geographic name information. The database contains information on nearly 2 million physical and cultural geographic features in the United States and its territories: a city, dam, island, school, or any other designated feature type. You can search for feature information at the GNIS Web site: http:// geonames.usgs.gov.
The GNIS search page has a number of different data fields that you can use to narrow down your search, including

• Feature Name: This is the name of the feature you’re looking for. This can be either the whole name or a part of the name. Feature name searches aren’t case sensitive.
• Query Variant Name?: Some features have other names in addition to their primary name. If you select the Yes radio button, records with matched variant names are displayed.
• State or Territory: From this drop-down list, select the state or territory where the feature is located.
• County Name: If you click the County Name button, a drop-down list box shows all the counties in the currently selected state. If you know the county where the feature is located, enter it to speed up your search.
• Feature Type: The Feature Type drop-down list box contains all the feature types, such as bridges, canals, lakes, and populated places. If you know what the feature is, select its type.
• Elevation Range: The Elevation Range text boxes let you search for features that occur at a certain height range; use feet when entering the range values.
• Topo Map Name: You can confine a search to features only found within a United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5 minute topographic map by entering the map’s exact name.