FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY DOCUMENTATION
VERSION 2005

TITLE: USGS GEOGRAPHIC NAMES INFORMATION SYSTEM

Geodataset Name:    GNIS
Geodataset Type:    SHAPE
Geodataset Feature: POINT

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

This dataset contains information about physical and cultural geographic features identified by a proper name, with the exception of most roads and highways.

DATA SOURCE(S):                  U.S. Geological Survey
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:   1:24,000 topographic maps
GEODATASET EXTENT:               State of Florida
DATE OF AUTOMATION OR SOURCE:    Source Data from 1932 to 1995

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES
Datafile Name: GNIS.DBF

NAME         WIDTH  TYPE      PRECISION
AREA         18     DECIMAL      5                        
PERIMETER    18     DECIMAL      5                        
GNIS_         5     DECIMAL                              
GNIS_ID       5     DECIMAL                              
FIPS          3     DECIMAL                              
ELEV          5     DECIMAL                              
LAT_ORG       7     DECIMAL                              
LONG_ORG      7     DECIMAL                              
LAT_HEAD      7     DECIMAL                              
LONG_HEAD     7     DECIMAL                              
COUNTY       35     CHARACTER                              
DESIG         9     CHARACTER                              
NAME        100     CHARACTER                              
DESCRIPT    100     CHARACTER                              

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

ITEM            DESCRIPTION
FIPS            Federal Information Processing Standard State and County Code.
ELEVATION       Elevation of feature in feet.
LAT_ORG         Latitudinal coordinate locating the approximate center of areal
                features.  Also, latitudinal coordinate of point in coverage for
                linear and areal features.
                
LONG_ORG        Longitudinal coordinates locating the approximate center of 
                areal features.  Also, longitudinal coordinate of point in 
                coverage for linear and areal features.
                
LAT_HEAD        Latitudinal coordinates locating the mouth of linear features 
                such as streams.
  
LONG_HEAD       Longitudinal coordinates locating the mouth of linear features
                such as streams.                        
COUNTY          Name of county in which feature occurs.
DESIG           Designation of the feature.  (PPL = populated place.) 
NAME            Name assigned to the feature by the USGS.
DESCRIPT        FGDL added item based on NAME.

USER NOTES:

The Geographic Names Information System was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Its purpose is to promote geographic feature name standardization and to serve as the Federal Government's repository of information regarding feature name spellings and applications for features in U.S. The names listed in the inventory can be published on Federal maps, charts, and in other documents. The feature locative information has been used in emergency preparedness, marketing, siteselection and analysis, genealogical and historical research, and transportation routing applications.

FGDL QUALITY ASSURANCE STATUS:

-Projected to FGDL Albers
-Tolerances were set to FGDL standards
-Set Precision to double
-Points that were obviously misplaced (i.e Gulf of Mexico) were deleted
-DESCRIPT item was added based on NAME

REFERENCES:

   Geographic Names Information SystemData Users Guide 6
      
      Available in hypertext format at:
      http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/ti/GNIS/gnis_users_guide_toc.html
      

DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:

    SOURCE INFORMATION:
                      Source: 1:24,000scale topographic maps
                  Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
            Publication_Date: unknown
           Publication_Place: Reston, VA
                   Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
         Source_Abbreviation: USGS
         Source_Contribution: Feature names and attribute information
          
                      Source: Records of the U.S. BG
                  Originator: U.S. Board on Geographic Names
            Publication_Date: Unpublished material
                Source_Media: card files
                Source_Dates: 1932  present
         Source_Abbreviation: USBGN
         Source_Contribution: Feature names and attribute information
           
                      Source: U.S. Forest Service 1:24,000scale topographic maps
                  Originator: U.S. Forest Service
            Publication_Date: unknown
         Source_Abbreviation: USFS
         Source_Contribution: Feature names and attribute information
   
   PROCESS INFORMATION:   
       Process_Step:
           GNIS Phase I data compilation and editFeature name and attribute
           data are collected from the largestscale USGS topographic maps
           available.  These data are compared to the records of the U.S. Board
           on Geographic Names.
      
           SourceUsedAbbr.: USGS , USBGN       
                Process_Date: 198105
                 
       Process_Step:
           GNIS Maintenance programMaintenance cooperators feed GNIS
           new names and corrections discovered in the course of new
           mapping and revision activities and implementation of the
           national geographic names standarization program.
               
           SourceUsedAbbr.: USBGN, USGS, USFS
                Process_Date: ongoing
               
       Process_Contact: Robin D. Worcester
              Position: Chief, Geographic Names Information Section
          Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
        Street Address: 523 National Center,
        City/State/Zip: Reston, Virginia  22092
             Telephone: 1 703 648 4551
         Email Address: rwrocest@usgs.gov

MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS

Projection                           ALBERS
Units                                METERS
Datum                                HPGN
Spheroid                             GRS1980
1st standard parallel                24   0  0.000
2nd standard parallel                31  30  0.000
central meridian                    -84   0  0.000
latitude of projection's origin      24   0  0.000 
false easting (meters)               400000.00000
false northing (meters)              0.00000

DATA SOURCES CONTACT(S):

Name:               U.S. Geological Survey
Abbr.name:          USGS
Contact Person:     Chief, Branch of Geographic Names
Address:            523 National Center
                    Reston, VA 22092
Phone:              703.648.4544
Web site:           http://mapping.usgs.gov

USGS Distributor Contact:

Name:            Earth Science Information Center,
                 U.S.Geological Survey     
Abbr.name:       USGS
Address:         507 National Center    
                 Reston, VA 22092
Phone:           1 800 USA MAPS 
Web site:        http://mapping.usgs.gov/esic/ 

FGDL CONTACT:

Name:                   FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name:             FGDL
Address:                Florida Geographic Data Library
                        431 Architecture Building
                        PO Box 115706
                        Gainesville, FL  326115706
Web site:               http://www.fgdl.org

Contact FGDL:

      Technical Support:	        http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfeed.html
      FGDL Frequently Asked Questions:  http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfaq.html
      FGDL Mailing Lists:		http://www.fgdl.org/fgdl-l.html
      For FGDL Software:                http://www.fgdl.org/software.html