114:
bulk of GNIS entries do not clearly distinguish between locale-type features and cities/towns/villages/hamlets, many of these were incorrectly transcribed as "populated places", a label that is supposed to apply to "... a named community with a permanent human population, usually not incorporated and with no legal boundaries, ranging from rural clustered buildings to large cities and every size in between." That's right: Many of our "populated place" articles are only labelled as such because an employee poring over a map missed a subtle difference in typeface.
185:
mountains, lakes and ponds or rivers and creeks. As editors we need to be aware of the purpose and shortcomings of GNIS, using it as a resource where it excels (name and coordinates) while relying on other sources for notability and feature type. After all, our research and editorial discretion is what distinguishes
Knowledge (XXG) from machine-generated gazeteers such as
172:
were sometimes misread and sometimes bore name labels on shore which could not be reconciled with other maps. Promotional maps tend to list non-notable subdivisions; other sources report 4th class post offices, which were typically just a place in a store or railroad station or even a private residence where people could come to post and pick up their mail.
340:"An entry with Feature Class = Populated Place represents a named community with a permanent human population, usually not incorporated and with no legal boundaries, ranging from rural clustered buildings to large cities and every size in between. The boundaries of most communities classified as Populated Place are subjective and cannot be determined."
35:
526:, to mark the boundaries between properties. Many (but not all) "corners" that have survived on maps that appear at intersections and boundaries are not actually the populated places at all, but rather the marker trees, usually named after the property owner of the property that they primarily stood on, that are
536:(Interesting factoids: It was expressly illegal under federal law and under state law in states such as West Virginia to remove a corner tree back in the 19th century; and one important point of West Virginian law was whether one could take the word of a dead person about which tree was a marker tree.)
710:
As with the place names books, quality is variable, and those from around 1900 tend to be a bit gushing in their praises of the forefathers and heavy on the anecdotes. That said, their age (typically with a few decades of the foundation of the places, at least outside the east coast) and attention to
184:
of a place, the "feature class" labels do not carry the same official standing. They're simply used for "efficient data search and retrieval purposes" and "have no status as standards". In fact, GNIS specifically does not involve itself in such geographic minutiae as the differences between hills and
171:
journal, as well as items copied from larger scale topographic maps. One can readily deduce that these entries are not reflected in the small-scale topographic maps, which already adds an element of doubt; in the case of the nautical charts, which can be verified online, we have found that the charts
204:
Since GNIS staff has been unable to maintain
Domestic administrative names for quite some time (since October 1, 2014), these records will be archived from GNIS database and will longer be available through the GNIS search application. The following feature classes will be archived: Airport, Bridge,
122:
Queens, and the USGS employee who added the location to the database failed to recognize the subtle difference in spacing which was used to distinguish a train station from a community on the topo map. This particular error doesn't seem to have been repeated by
Knowledge (XXG) since we already had a
121:
a human settlement at a given location, but in many cases it's been found that the place name has only been used in conjunction with a railroad siding, ranch, windmill or other feature. For example, Haberman, NY was the location of a train station built to serve the
Haberman Manufacturing Company in
113:
Each place is assigned an official name and a "feature class" such as Park, School, Dam, Populated Place or Locale. Locale is meant to encompass miscellaneous human-made features such as battlefields, campgrounds, farms, railroad sidings, windmills, etc. However, since the topo maps that provide the
162:
information. Although this type of coverage is sometimes presented as evidence of notability, they don't meet our "significant coverage" requirement since they're simply copied from another source by an automated program. Knowledge (XXG) also forms a link in this chain of errors: When we describe a
311:
Many websites use GNIS for automated location data. When you search for real estate listings, store locations or weather reports, the name is used to mark a point on a map and return the requested information. The source isn't saying that the location is notable, probably doesn't do business there
701:
In many states people took it upon themselves to identify the origins of the names of places within the state. These vary in quality but have often helped to clarify matters by giving a more specific characterization of the places in question. We have found these used as GNIS sources, often quite
166:
GNIS itself has been found to propagate questionable information from other sources. Most entries were taken from USGS topographic maps at the smallest scale (1:24000 or 1:25000), but we have also found entries copied from NOAA navigational charts, from Forest
Service maps, from promotional maps,
296:
Knowledge (XXG) is a trusted source that many organizations rely on. For example, some of these places appear on Google Maps with descriptions such as "Jones
Windmill is an unincorporated community in Smith County", even though the "unincorporated community" designation has never appeared in a
256:
Knowledge (XXG) wants the centres of towns and cities. In Payne's own word in the USGS report on GNIS phase 1, the selection of a coördinate for a big town or city is "subjective", and the GNIS rule was, in contrast, to pick a prominent civic feature (town hall, main intersection, main public
583:
books for a particular locality. Arcadia books are not the be-all-and-end-all, but they do point the way and are generally the results of local historians already having done for us the poring over old maps, records, and photographs. Arcadia (and other local history) books helped sort out
503:
Springs, California" articles, once we found a book that documented the histories of the springs in
California; now mainly done, with a few articles still requiring more detailed attention, because the documentation was just a mention or it wasn't in the book at all or some other
342:
Knowledge (XXG) doesn't have a specific definition of what qualifies as a "legally recognized populated place", but repeated discussions have concluded that simply being listed in a government database or appearing on a map does not meet the
995:
297:
reliable source - it was applied by a
Knowledge (XXG) editor, based on their own interpretation of an erroneous "populated place" label. When we keep these stubs, we play an active role in creating and propagating false information.
437:
990:
431:
623:
These are useful for telling whether an "unincorporated community" that is just a dot nowadays is a historical post-town/post-village or only a post office; that then might be found in local county/state histories.
443:
413:
407:
385:
109:
is the official repository for place names in the United States, with a database of over 2 million natural and man-made features. Entries are compiled from sources such as atlases, gazetteers and topo maps.
474:
wiki, documenting some of the problems with the 2007 and 2009 mass imports of GNIS data into OpenStreetMap. Elsewhere on the OSM wiki are warnings about importing data from
Wikidata and Knowledge (XXG).
601:
511:
245:
Knowledge (XXG) wants the mid-point of linear features. However, the rules for the GNIS data compilation were that the primary coördinate be the "mouth" of the feature and secondary coördinates be
613:
425:
490:
135:
376:
507:
391:
366:
242:
419:
397:
589:
356:
1015:
233:, pace several AFD discussions where discussion has been derailed by what turned out to be a single-digit typing error on the part of a data entry clerk, they may not be
253:
563:
94:
or another more accurate category. There are countless instances of discrepancies between the GNIS and print versions of the
National Gazetteer, a publication of the
558:
541:
484:
138:
for Jolly Dump, South Dakota shows that it was never anything more than a place where railroad cars were loaded and unloaded, yet a Google search brings up the
98:
with the same entries. This means that everything from small homesteads to railroad junctions to river crossings have been mislabeled as "populated places".
90:(GNIS) database. Unfortunately, a major flaw has been found in this source: GNIS has labeled many locations as "populated places" in error rather than as a
461:
264:
Further complicating this is that there were alternative forms of the database that substituted coördinate information from the National Map database.
154:("lastminute.com has a fantastic range of hotels in Jolly Dump, with everything from cheap hotels to luxurious five star accommodation available!"), a
975:
568:
205:
Building, Cemetery, Church, Dam, Forest, Harbor, Hospital, Mine, Oilfield, Park, Post Office, Reserve, School, Tower, Trail, Tunnel, and Well.
260:
While in phase 1 coördinates were read straight from the markers on the maps, in phase 2 coördinates were interpolated, using contour lines.
50:
It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Knowledge (XXG) contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
51:
163:
place as an "unincorporated community", a label that is often completely unsourced, Google Maps copies it as a description of the place.
106:
87:
961:
943:
616:). All of these were two-sentence GNIS-only stubs at the time of deletion nomination, all claiming "unincorporated community".
95:
370:
139:
593:
320:
If it's listed in GNIS, wouldn't that make it a "populated, legally recognized place" and therefore presumed notable per
217:
Knowledge (XXG) articles bulk-added in earlier years based upon these archived records now link to blank records on the
1010:
155:
86:
Knowledge (XXG) has thousands of "populated place" stubs which were mass-created from the United States government's
775:
331:
597:
609:
352:
To illustrate the range of misidentified places, here is a list of AfD discussions of GNIS "populated places":
464:- an essay on how to apply notability standard to listings in gazetteer and gazetteer-like sources like GNIS.
750:
546:
126:
article based on a different source, but it did appear in other GNIS-derived sources such as Google Maps.
55:
496:
65:
380:
218:
456:
321:
151:
532:
210:
91:
147:
43:
895:
732:
585:
580:
738:. Reston, VA: United States Board on Geographic Names, Domestic Names Committee. December 2016.
958:
940:
668:
645:
887:
688:
660:
637:
123:
134:
Errors quickly propagate to other online sources which rely on GNIS for location data. Our
912:
Payne, Roger L. (1983). McEwen, Robert B.; Winter, Richard E.; Ramey, Benjamin S. (eds.).
675:
401:
664:
641:
282:
They're generally accurate, but like any reliable source they're susceptible to errors.
1004:
684:
471:
58:. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.
913:
628:, in particular, has a uniform scheme for this. Take care about dates, of course.
360:
159:
17:
305:
But it returned 6,000 Google search results - There's even a FedEx office there!
143:
972:
Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States
254:
Knowledge (XXG):WikiProject Geographical coordinates#Which coordinates to use
955:
George Washington's Eye: Landscape, Architecture, and Design at Mount Vernon
678:
168:
467:
438:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Silver Hill, Charlton County, Georgia
432:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Aurant, California (2nd nomination)
237:. This is because Knowledge (XXG) has different rules to the GNIS rules.
898:
444:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Scoria Point Corner, North Dakota
363:
in Washington State, shown to be named after various railroad employees
414:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Saint Joseph Youth Camp, Arizona
167:
from Rand-McNally atlases, from books of place names, and even from a
921:. Geological Survey Circular. United States Geological Survey. 895-F.
408:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Willy Dick Crossing, Washington
386:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Road Junction Windmill, Arizona
891:
648:
446:- scenic overlook in a national park, listed as a "populated place"
334:, "populated place" is a designation for places that are generally
219:
https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names
751:"The Brief, Baffling Life of an Accidental New York Neighborhood"
512:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Allen Shop Corner, Virginia
186:
671:
426:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Caldwell Pines, California
249:
as long as it indicated what (other) map(s) the feature crossed.
211:
https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names/domestic-names
878:"The Admissibility of Hearsay Evidence in Boundary Disputes".
514:— An old surveying technique in centuries past was the use of
491:
Knowledge (XXG):WikiProject California/GNIS cleanup task force
440:- A deserted swamp with no buildings mislabeled as a community
257:
library, and so forth) rather than attempt a geometric centre.
29:
377:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/West Junction, Illinois
937:
A Golden Weed: Tobacco and Environment in the Piedmont South
508:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Acors Corner, Virginia
930:(6 ed.). Reston, Virginia: United States Geological Survey.
392:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Bormister, California
367:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Headquarters, Arizona
243:
Knowledge (XXG):WikiProject Geographical coordinates/Linear
420:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Fish Pond, Kentucky
398:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Monkey Box, Florida
604:) actually was; and conversely made the cases stronger
357:
Knowledge (XXG):Articles for deletion/Susie, Washington
73:
928:
Geographic Names Information System: Data Users Guide
799:
797:
564:
Knowledge (XXG):WikiProject Washington/GNIS cleanup
559:Knowledge (XXG):WikiProject Minnesota/GNIS cleanup
312:and most likely isn't even aware of its existence.
221:interface to the "gaz-domestic" (NGNDB) database.
659:. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & co. 1880.
542:Knowledge (XXG):WikiProject Kentucky/GNIS cleanup
150:with coordinates and elevation copied from GNIS,
229:While the GNIS entries are generally considered
199:
1016:Knowledge (XXG) essays about reliable sources
485:User:SportingFlyer/Arizona placenames cleanup
434:- Formerly a railroad station, now a railyard
422:– A literal pond, listed as a populated place
8:
276:Aren't government sources always reliable?
197:In 2017 the USGS made this announcement:
996:/Robert M. Rennick Manuscript Collection
632:Baldwin, Thomas; Thomas, Joseph (1855).
468:https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/USGS_GNIS
52:Knowledge (XXG)'s policies or guidelines
976:United States Bureau of Land Management
827:
721:
569:User:Hog Farm/Missouri attention needed
290:What's the harm in keeping these stubs?
117:It's difficult to prove that there was
359:– 15 industrial rail spurs within the
339:
839:
815:
803:
733:"Principles, Policies and Procedures"
727:
725:
462:WP:Knowledge (XXG) is not a gazetteer
7:
499:— a effort to deal with all of the "
487:— includes a list of river crossings
180:Although GNIS provides the official
915:Geographic Names Information System
685:Lippincott's gazetteer of the world
657:Lippincott's gazetteer of the world
107:Geographic Names Information System
88:Geographic Names Information System
991:/Ramsay Place-Name Card Collection
749:Schultz, Isaac (15 October 2019).
634:Lippincott's pronouncing gazetteer
533:George Washington knew about this.
400:– A literal box in the marshes of
56:thoroughly vetted by the community
25:
851:
782:. United States Geological Survey
636:. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott.
193:Feature classes abandoned in 2014
711:detail can help resolve matters.
369:– The headquarters building for
142:Facebook page, a list of nearby
33:
27:Essay on editing Knowledge (XXG)
974:. Technical bulletins. Vol. 6.
338:legally defined or recognized:
780:U.S. Board on Geographic Names
371:Petrified Forest National Park
1:
594:Escalle, Larkspur, California
394:– Numerous individual ranches
140:"Things to do in Jolly Dump"
665:loc.gdc/scd0001.00193145826
642:loc.gdc/gdclccn.tmp96023479
598:Salminas Resort, California
1032:
886:(3): 255–257. March 1909.
610:Ettawa Springs, California
63:
939:. Yale University Press.
935:Swanson, Drew A. (2014).
148:"Populated Place Profile"
926:Payne, Roger L. (1985).
247:any point on the feature
225:Reliability of locations
596:; helped identify what
530:the populated places.
404:, listed as a community
1011:Knowledge (XXG) essays
953:Manca, Joseph (2012).
575:Books to check against
551:from their names alone
547:User:Hog Farm/Kentucky
379:– A railroad junction
215:
497:User:Hog Farm/springs
160:daylight savings time
130:Propagation of errors
54:, as it has not been
698:Books of place names
553:might be problematic
880:Columbia Law Review
707:Old local histories
493:, projects include
388:– Several windmills
18:User:Dlthewave/GNIS
868:, 8th Leigh. 697.
586:Robert, California
581:Arcadia Publishing
579:There are usually
428:– a stand of trees
410:– A river crossing
176:Official standards
865:Harriman v. Brown
330:According to the
84:
83:
16:(Redirected from
1023:
979:
967:
949:
931:
922:
920:
903:
902:
875:
869:
867:
861:
855:
849:
843:
837:
831:
825:
819:
813:
807:
801:
792:
791:
789:
787:
772:
766:
765:
763:
761:
746:
740:
739:
737:
729:
689:Internet Archive
682:
652:
549:— articles that
535:
381:west of the city
213:
187:Hometown Locator
156:weather forecast
124:Haberman station
76:
37:
36:
30:
21:
1031:
1030:
1026:
1025:
1024:
1022:
1021:
1020:
1001:
1000:
987:
982:
970:
964:
952:
946:
934:
925:
918:
911:
907:
906:
892:10.2307/1109094
877:
876:
872:
863:
862:
858:
850:
846:
838:
834:
826:
822:
814:
810:
802:
795:
785:
783:
774:
773:
769:
759:
757:
748:
747:
743:
735:
731:
730:
723:
718:
655:
631:
577:
531:
481:
479:Cleanup efforts
453:
451:Further reading
416:– A summer camp
402:Lake Okeechobee
350:
270:
227:
214:
209:
195:
178:
132:
104:
102:Feature classes
80:
79:
72:
68:
60:
59:
34:
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
1029:
1027:
1019:
1018:
1013:
1003:
1002:
999:
998:
993:
986:
983:
981:
980:
968:
962:
950:
944:
932:
923:
908:
905:
904:
870:
856:
844:
842:, pp. 161–162.
832:
820:
808:
793:
767:
741:
720:
719:
717:
714:
713:
712:
708:
704:
703:
699:
695:
694:
693:
692:
653:
621:
614:AfD discussion
602:AfD discussion
590:AfD discussion
576:
573:
572:
571:
566:
561:
556:
555:
554:
539:
538:
537:
505:
488:
480:
477:
476:
475:
465:
459:
452:
449:
448:
447:
441:
435:
429:
423:
417:
411:
405:
395:
389:
383:
374:
364:
349:
346:
345:
344:
325:
314:
313:
306:
299:
298:
291:
284:
283:
277:
269:
266:
262:
261:
258:
250:
226:
223:
207:
194:
191:
177:
174:
131:
128:
103:
100:
82:
81:
78:
77:
69:
64:
61:
49:
48:
40:
38:
26:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1028:
1017:
1014:
1012:
1009:
1008:
1006:
997:
994:
992:
989:
988:
984:
977:
973:
969:
965:
963:9781421405612
960:
957:. JHU Press.
956:
951:
947:
945:9780300191165
942:
938:
933:
929:
924:
917:
916:
910:
909:
900:
897:
893:
889:
885:
881:
874:
871:
866:
860:
857:
853:
848:
845:
841:
836:
833:
829:
824:
821:
817:
812:
809:
805:
800:
798:
794:
781:
777:
771:
768:
756:
755:Atlas Obscura
752:
745:
742:
734:
728:
726:
722:
715:
709:
706:
705:
700:
697:
696:
690:
686:
680:
677:
673:
670:
666:
662:
658:
654:
650:
647:
643:
639:
635:
630:
629:
627:
622:
619:
618:
617:
615:
611:
608:the likes of
607:
603:
599:
595:
591:
587:
582:
574:
570:
567:
565:
562:
560:
557:
552:
548:
545:
544:
543:
540:
534:
529:
525:
521:
517:
513:
509:
506:
502:
498:
495:
494:
492:
489:
486:
483:
482:
478:
473:
472:OpenStreetMap
469:
466:
463:
460:
458:
455:
454:
450:
445:
442:
439:
436:
433:
430:
427:
424:
421:
418:
415:
412:
409:
406:
403:
399:
396:
393:
390:
387:
384:
382:
378:
375:
372:
368:
365:
362:
358:
355:
354:
353:
348:Relevant AfDs
347:
341:
337:
333:
329:
326:
323:
319:
316:
315:
310:
307:
304:
301:
300:
295:
292:
289:
286:
285:
281:
278:
275:
272:
271:
267:
265:
259:
255:
251:
248:
244:
240:
239:
238:
236:
232:
224:
222:
220:
212:
206:
203:
202:Data Content:
198:
192:
190:
188:
183:
175:
173:
170:
164:
161:
157:
153:
152:nearby hotels
149:
146:locations, a
145:
141:
137:
129:
127:
125:
120:
115:
111:
108:
101:
99:
97:
93:
89:
75:
71:
70:
67:
62:
57:
53:
47:
45:
39:
32:
31:
19:
971:
954:
936:
927:
914:
883:
879:
873:
864:
859:
847:
835:
828:Swanson 2014
823:
811:
784:. Retrieved
779:
770:
758:. Retrieved
754:
744:
656:
633:
626:Lippincott's
625:
605:
578:
550:
527:
523:
520:corner trees
519:
518:, variously
516:marker trees
515:
500:
361:Hanford Site
351:
343:requirement.
335:
327:
317:
308:
302:
293:
287:
279:
273:
263:
246:
234:
230:
228:
216:
201:
200:
196:
181:
179:
165:
133:
118:
116:
112:
105:
85:
41:
776:"How Do I?"
649:tmp96023479
235:appropriate
42:This is an
1005:Categories
840:Manca 2012
816:Payne 1985
804:Payne 1983
716:References
620:Gazetteers
524:line trees
457:WP:GEOLAND
373:in Arizona
322:WP:GEOLAND
854:, p. 106.
830:, p. 195.
679:24447594M
501:Something
169:philately
985:See also
672:02002832
231:accurate
66:Shortcut
899:1109094
818:, p. 7.
806:, p. 5.
687:at the
606:against
528:between
470:at the
74:WP:GNIS
702:badly.
592:) and
504:reason
92:locale
919:(PDF)
896:JSTOR
852:USBLM
786:9 May
760:9 May
736:(PDF)
144:FedEx
119:never
44:essay
959:ISBN
941:ISBN
788:2020
762:2020
669:LCCN
646:LCCN
522:and
332:USGS
252:Per
241:Per
182:name
158:and
96:USGS
888:doi
661:hdl
638:hdl
336:not
268:FAQ
136:AfD
1007::
894:.
882:.
796:^
778:.
753:.
724:^
676:OL
674:.
667:.
644:.
510:,
328:A:
318:Q:
309:A:
303:Q:
294:A:
288:Q:
280:A:
274:Q:
208:—
189:.
978:.
966:.
948:.
901:.
890::
884:9
790:.
764:.
691:)
683:(
681:.
663::
651:.
640::
612:(
600:(
588:(
324:?
46:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.