U.S. Geological Survey19980801gnisvector digital datahttp://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/gis/datalibrary/gisdatalibrary.htmlgnisThe GNIS feature class contains the locations and names of features of interest in California. The source of this point feature class is the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) data files. These files are compiled mainly from USGS map products such as the 7.5' 1:24,000 quads.
The GNIS feature class is useful for furnishing landmarks on maps. It can also serve as base data. The features help to orient the viewer and give a sense of scale. There is some overlap with the PLACES feature class (populated places). If this causes problems, reselect TYPE = 'ppl', then nselect/Switch Selection..The purpose of the GNIS feature class is to show the locations and names of features of interest in CaliforniaThese feature types are not exhaustive. For example, reselecting schools will not select every California school, but it will furnish a large number of school locations. The features present are the same ones seen on USGS map sheets. The definitions and data dictionary for FEAT_TYPE and FEAT_NAME are the same as those for the GEONAME feature class fields TYPE and NAME. Similar information is also available in the Caltrans GEONAME and PLACES feature classes.en199808011996030520001109publication dateAs needed-122.356912-121.48438237.90548537.459938-122.356912-121.48438237.45993837.905485noneplace namegeographic namenoneCACaliforniaThis is Category I data. Category I data are public domain and available to share with Caltrans partners. The USGS has determined that cave names and locations are sensitive information. Users should exercise discreation in release of these data.This is Category I data. Category I data are public domain and available to share with Caltrans partners.Caltrans TSI/GIS Data Branchmailing and physical address
1120 N St., MS 38
SacramentoCA95814USA(916) 654-5037(916) 654-6583U.S. Geological Survey, California Department of Fish and GameMicrosoft Windows 2000 Version 5.0 (Build 2195) Service Pack 4; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.1.0.722ShapefileThe feature and attribute accuracy is good.GNIS is complete as of 20001109. Feature completeness is good, as is attribute completeness. Fifty-nine types of features are classified.U.S. Geological Survey1987USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)tabular digital data
The following information is extracted from the Geographic Names Information System Data Users Guide 6, Department of the Interior,
U.S Geological Survey, 1987.
APPENDIX B.--Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Feature Class Definitions
The feature class terms and abbreviations currently consist of nine or fewer letters and were chosen for computer search and retrieval pur poses. They do not necessarily represent terminology for the identification of all kinds of cultural and natural features. Although some of the terms may agree with dictionary definitions, they represent more generalized categories. Some commonly used generics are listed in parentheses at the end of each entry to assist in understanding the range of cultural and natural entities represented by the term. Refer to the Reference Data Base to retrieve all generics thus far encountered in geographic names compilation. In most instances, a plural form is listed as if it were singular; for example, archipelago or islands would be categorized as island. The terms and the definitions are as follows:
airport-manmade facility maintained for the use of aircraft (airfield, airstrip, landing field, landing strip).
arch-natural arch-like opening in a rock mass (bridge, natural bridge, sea arch).
area-any one of several areally extensive natural features not included in other categories (badlands, barren, delta, fan, garden).
arroyo-watercourse or channel through which water may occasionally flow (coulee, draw, gully, wash).
bar-natural accumulation of sand, gravel, or alluvium forming an underwater or exposed embankment (ledge, reef, sandbar, shoal, spit).
basin-natural depression or relatively low area enclosed by higher land (amphitheater, cirque, pit, sink).
bay-indentation of a coastline or shoreline enclosing a part of a body of water; a body of water partly surrounded by land (arm, bight, cove, estuary, gulf, inlet, sound).
beach-the sloping shore along a body of water that is washed by waves or tides and is usually covered by sand or gravel (coast, shore, strand).
bench-area of relatively level land on the flank of an elevation such as a hill, ridge, or mountain where the slope of the land rises on one side and descends on the opposite side (level).
bend-curve in the course of a stream and (or) the land within the curve; a curve in a linear body of water (bottom, loop, meander).
bridge-manmade structure carrying a trail, road, or other trans- portation system across a body of water or depression (causeway, overpass, trestle).
building-a manmade structure with walls and a roof for protection of people and (or) materials, but not including church, hospital, or school.
canal-manmade waterway used by watercraft or for drainage, irriga- tion, mining, or water power (ditch, lateral).
cape-projection of land extending into a body of water (lea, neck, peninsula, point).
cave-natural underground passageway or chamber, or a hollowed out cavity in the side of a cliff (cavern, grotto).
cemetery-a place or area for burying the dead (burial, burying ground, grave, memorial garden).
channel-linear deep part of a body of water through which the main volume of water flows and is frequently used as a route for watercraft (passage, reach, strait, thoroughfare, throughfare).
church-building used for religious worship (chapel, mosque, synagogue, tabernacle, temple).
civil-a political division formed for administrative purposes (borough, county, municipio, parish, town, township).
cliff-very steep or vertical slope (bluff, crag, head, headland, nose, palisades, precipice, promontory, rim, rimrock).
crater-circular-shaped depression at the summit of a volcanic cone or one on the surface of the land caused by the impact of a meteorite; a manmade depression caused by an explosion (caldera, lua).
crossing-a place where two or more routes of transportation form a junction or intersection (overpass, underpass).
dam-water barrier or embankment built across the course of a stream or into a body of water to control and (or) impound the flow of water (breakwater, dike, jetty).
falls-perpendicular or very steep fall of water in the course of a stream (cascade, cataract, waterfall).
flat-relative level area within a region of greater relief (clearing, glade, playa).
forest-bounded area of woods, forest, or grassland under the administration of a political agency (see woods) (national forest, national grasslands, State forest).
gap-low point or opening between hills or mountains or in a ridge or mountain range (col, notch, pass, saddle, water gap, wind gap)
geyser-eruptive spring from which hot water and (or) steam and in some cases mud are periodically thrown.
glacier-body or stream of ice moving outward and downslope from an area of accumulation; an area of relatively permanent snow or ice on the top or side of a mountain or mountainous area (icefield, ice patch, snow patch).
gut-relatively small coastal waterway connecting larger bodies of water or other waterways (creek, inlet, slough).
harbor-sheltered area of water where ships or other watercraft can anchor or dock (hono, port, roads, roadstead).
hospital-building where the sick or injured may receive medical or surgical attention (infirmary).
island-area of dry or relatively dry land surrounded by water or low wetland (archipelago, atoll, cay, hammock, hummock, isla, isle, key, moku, rock).
isthmus-narrow section of land in a body of water connecting two larger land areas.
lake-natural body of inland water (backwater, lac, lagoon, laguna, pond, pool, resaca, waterhole).
lava-formations resulting from the consolidation of molten rock on the surface of the Earth (kepula, lava flow).
levee-natural or manmade embankment flanking a stream (bank, berm).
locale-place at which there is or was human activity; it does not include populated places, mines, and dams (battlefield, crossroad, camp, farm, ghost town, landing, railroad siding, ranch, ruins, site, station, windmill).
mine-place or area from which commercial minerals are or were removed from the Earth; not including oilfield (pit, quarry, shaft).
oilfield-area where petroleum is or was removed from the Earth.
other-category for miscellaneous named manmade, entities that cannot readily be placed in the other feature classes listed here.
park-place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a cultural or natural resource and under some form of government administration; not including National or State forests-
or Reserves (national historical landmark, national park, state park, wilderness area).
pillar-vertical, standing, often spire-shaped, natural rock formation (chimney, monument, pinnacle, pohaku, rock tower).
plain-a region of general uniform slope, comparatively level and of considerable extent (grassland, highland, kula, plateau, upland).
ppl-(populated place) place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population (city, settlement, town, village).
range-chain of hills or mountains, a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra).
rapids-fast-flowing section of a stream, often shallow and with exposed rock or boulders (riffle, ripple).
reserve-a tract of land set aside for a specific use (does not include forests, civil divisions, parks).
reservoir-artificially impounded body of water (lake, tank).
ridge-elevation with a narrow, elongated crest which can be part of a hill or mountain (crest, cuesta, escarpment, hogback, lae, rim, spur).
school-building or group of buildings used as an institution for study, teaching, and learning (academy, college, high school, university).
sea-large body of salt water (gulf, ocean).
slope-a gently inclined part of the Earth's surface (grade, pitch).
spring-place where underground water flows naturally to the surface of the Earth (seep).
stream-linear body of water flowing on the Earth's surface (anabranch, awawa, bayou, branch, brook, creek, distributary, fork, kill, pup, rio, river, run, slough).
summit-prominent elevation rising above the surrounding level of the Earth's surface; does not include pillars, ridges, or ranges (ahu, berg, bald, butte, cerro, colina, cone, cumbre, dome, head, hill, horn, knob, knoll, mauna, mesa, mesita, mound, mount, mountain, peak, puu, rock, Sugarloaf, table, volcano).
swamp-poorly drained wetland, fresh or saltwater, wooded or grassy, possibly covered with open water (bog, cienega, marais, marsh, pocosin).
trail-route for passage from one point to another; does not include roads or highways (jeep trail, path, ski trail).
tower-a manmade structure, higher than its diameter, generally used for observation, storage, or electronic transmission.
tunnel-linear underground passageway open at both ends.
valley-linear depression in the Earth's surface that generally slopes from one end to the other (barranca, canyon, chasm, cove, draw, glen, gorge, gulch, gulf, hollow, ravine).
well-manmade shaft or hole in the Earth's surface used to obtain fluid or gaseous materials.
woods-small area covered with a dense growth of trees; does not include an area of trees under the administration of a political agency (see forest).
APPENDIX C.--Parenthetical Descriptors used with Names
The following terms have been used on USGS topographic maps and other sources to provide additional information or clarity about the name or the feature to which the name refers.
Abandoned
Active Mine
Alkali
Archaeological Site
BLM-refers to Bureau
of Land Management
Campground
Cemetery
Diabase Dike
Dry Spring
Flowing
Foot Bridge
Ghost Town
Historic
Historical
Historical Monument
Historical Ruins
Historic Site
Inactive Mine
Jeep Trail
Mud
Natural Arch
Oil Field
Old Channel
Old Stage Station
Oxbow
P.O.-refers to Post Office
Pack Trail
Placer-refers to mining activities
Polluted Spring
Post Office
Private
Rock Formation
Ruins
Salt Lake
Secondary Name-refers to alternate or a prior name; for example: Lake Katy (Old River Lake)
Siding
Site
Station
Submerged Rock
Sulphur Spring
USDA-refers to U.S. Department of Agriculture
USFS-refers to U.S. Forest Service
USGS-refers to U.S. Geological Survey
1941-refers to year of occurrence
http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/24000disc1987publication dateGNISStandard place namesConverted from digital table on CD-ROM in 1996.
Updated 20001109. The files used to update GNIS (03/05/1996) were obtained from Paul Veisze from a request to the USGS/GNIS Staff, transmitted by Mark Brooks (mbrooks@usgs.gov) on 10/17/2000. The following listing describes the GNIS files used to update the March 5, 1996 GNIS dataset.
The following metadata text was supplied with the GNIS extract files:
Ca_list1.txt - File contains all primary data
Column 1 - Feature ID
Column 2 - Gipsy ID
Column 3 - Feature Name
Column 4 - Feature Type
Column 5 - State FIPS Numeric Code
Column 6 - County FIPS Numeric Code
Column 7 - County Name
Column 8 - Primary Latitude (decimal)
Column 9 - Primary Longitude (decimal)
Column 10 - Primary Latitude (dms)
Column 11 - Primary Longitude (dms)
Column 12 - Cell Name (7.5' USGS Quadrangle)
Column 13 - Source Latitude (decimal)
Column 14 - Source Longitude (decimal)
Column 15 - Source Latitude (dms)
Column 16 - Source Longitude (dms)
Column 17 - Elevation
Column 18 - Total Population (Bureau of Census 1994/incorporated place only)
Column 19 - Federal Status (BGN)
Ca_list1_var.txt - File contains all variant names and biblio codes
Column 1 - Feature ID
Column 2 - Variant Name
Column 3 - Biblio Code
Ca_list2_coord.txt - File contains all secondary coordinates for features that have more than one coordinate
Column 1 - Feature ID
Column 2 - Sequence Number (starts with sequence number 2)
Column 3 - Cell Name (7.5' USGS Quadrangle)
Column 4 - Secondary Latitude (decimal)
Column 5 - Secondary Longitude (decimal)
Column 6 - Secondary Latitude (dms)
Column 7 - Secondary Longitude (dms)
The previous GNIS contained 86,139 unique features. GNIS can contain multiple points for a single unique feature such as a river. This count reflects only one point instance per feature. The 11/09/2000 version contains 104,133 single unique features, which is an increase of: 17,994.
The individual feature type counts are listed in comma-delimited format below.
"Feat_type","oldcount","newcount","chgcount"
airport,996,990,-6
arch,18,20,2
area,281,289,8
arroyo,0,2,2
bar,277,281,4
basin,503,498,-5
bay,382,426,44
beach,241,282,41
bench,30,31,1
bend,100,99,-1
bridge,146,157,11
building,2006,4065,2059
canal,2284,2297,13
canyon,0,1,1
cape,627,662,35
cave,83,0,-83
cemetery,687,804,117
channel,97,104,7
church,1642,7377,5735
civil,642,666,24
cliff,186,187,1
crater,24,24,0
crossing,86,96,10
dam,1554,1469,-85
falls,163,174,11
flat,2676,2706,30
forest,44,41,-3
gap,670,670,0
geyser,1,2,1
glacier,21,21,0
gut,217,217,0
harbor,86,103,17
hospital,510,824,314
island,505,529,24
isthmus,1,1,0
lake,2688,2641,-47
lava,15,15,0
levee,17,23,6
locale,10634,13489,2855
military,44,53,9
mine,2920,3069,149
oilfield,123,128,5
other,209,134,-75
park,3967,6728,2761
pillar,300,305,5
plain,27,26,-1
po,403,1046,643
ppl,6104,7477,1373
range,310,302,-8
rapids,10,10,0
reserve,80,80,0
reservoir,1421,1404,-17
ridge,1750,1755,5
school,8704,11068,2364
sea,1,2,1
slope,43,43,0
spring,3056,3080,24
stream,9955,9893,-62
summit,5535,5600,65
swamp,94,98,4
tower,969,972,3
trail,808,1182,374
tunnel,122,127,5
valley,7639,7613,-26
well,232,237,5
woods,173,197,24
There have been minor field modifications. For the most part, the old field names and types have been preserved.
GNIS has added new fields those of interest are listed below:
Ca_list1.txt - File contains all primary data
Column 1 - Feature ID
Column 2 - Gipsy ID
Column 12 - Cell Name (7.5' USGS Quadrangle)
Ca_list2_coord.txt - File contains all secondary coordinates for features that have more than one coordinate
Column 2 - Sequence Number (starts with sequence number 2)
Feature ID is used in the GIS dataset, but is named ID as previously however, the new number has been used instead of the old ID numbers. Secondly, since new versions of GNIS do not include the feature type, "caves" and DFG wishes to keep their inclusion; Caltrans generated its own ID. The ID for caves is "999" + the GNIS_ID.
Gipsy ID is essentially the old GNIS_ID with a different field name. Caltrans' use of the fieldname, GNIS_ID was retained. The field is now a numeric, however, instead of a character field.
The CELLNAME field is new.
The ELEVAT_FT field is now numeric.
The SEQUENCE field is new and contains the sequence number for those features that have more than one coordinate.
The old and new GNIS contain more fields than are represented in the DFG-processed GIS dataset. DFG's dropped fields were those that were either very sparsely populated or could be more effectively derived from other GIS feature classes such as county or state FIPS code.
There were many spurious data points outside of California. Most of the points that were reasonably off-shore were kept. Those north, south, and east into Oregon, Arizona, and Nevada respectively were clipped using a 1 kilometer buffer of California.GNISUnknownDFGGNISGNIS 2000 UpdateUnknowntabular digital dataUS Geological SurveyonlineDFGGNISUpdated and new GNIS fieldsVectorEntity point2164SimplePointFALSE2164FALSEFALSE0.0000000.000000Decimal degreesNorth American Datum of 1983Geodetic Reference System 806378137.000000298.257222GCS_North_American_1983gnisGNIS points represent places and landmarks in California, with standard names, variant names, and elevations.GNISFeature Class2164FIDInternal feature number.ESRISequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.ShapeFeature geometry.ESRICoordinates defining the features.AREAArea of featureCaltrans TSI/GIS Data BranchNumber195PERIMETERPerimeter of featureCaltrans TSI/GIS Data BranchNumber195GNIS_Number11IdentifierCaltrans TSI/GIS Data BranchGNIS_IDNumber11Numeric version of old GNIS ID/Gipsy IDCaltrans TSI/GIS Data BranchIDFloat1911New USGS GNIS IDGNISGNISIDString20Old character USGS GNIS IDGNISFEAT_NAMEString66Feature nameGNISFEAT_TYPEString12Feature type, as defined by USGSGNISLATDDNumber195Latitude in decimal degreesGNISLONDDNumber195GNISLongtitude in decimal degreesCELLNAMEString30Cell name: USGS 7.5' quad name in which feature is located.GNISELEVAT_FTFloat1911Elevation of feature in feetGNISVARIANTString254Variant feature name(s)GNISSEQUENCENumber11Sequence number for features having more than one coordinate.GNISCaltrans TSI/GIS Data Branchmailing and physical address
1120 N St., MS 38
SacramentoCA95814USA(916) 654-5037(916) 654-6583Downloadable DataThis is Category I data. Category I data are public domain and available to share with Caltrans partners.0.0220.05820090505Caltrans TSI/GIS Data BranchMetadata Coordinatormailing and physical address
1120 N St., MS 38
SacramentoCA95814USA(916) 654-5037(916) 654-6583FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial MetadataFGDC-STD-001-1998local timehttp://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.htmlESRI Metadata Profileenhttp://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.htmlESRI Metadata Profile2006062010323600FALSE20060710161640002009050513264000{7998B028-11BC-46AA-A420-D6A8EB7A4F75}Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.0 (Build 2195) Service Pack 4; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.1.0.722gnis-122.356912-121.48438237.90548537.4599381-122.356912-121.48438237.90548537.4599381ISO 19115 Geographic Information - MetadataDIS_ESRI1.0dataset002file://\\svhqs02\newgis\data\shapes\geo83\counties\ala\gnis.shpLocal Area Network0.058ShapefileGCS_North_American_1983216420090505