Geodataset Name:       GNIS_DEC17
Geodataset Type:       SHAPEFILE
Geodataset Feature:    Point
Feature Count:         54689

DATA SOURCE(S):                    U.S. Geological Survey
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:     5000
GEODATASET EXTENT:                 State of Florida

PUBLICATION DATE:                  20171201
TIME PERIOD OF CONTENT:            Begin Date: 19740101    End Date: 20171201
DOWNLOAD LINK:                     http://www.fgdl.org/metadataexplorer/explorer.jsp

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES:

Datafile Name: GNIS_DEC17.DBF

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

Item	Item Description
OBJECTID	Internal feature number.
Shape	Feature geometry.
FEATURE_ID	A permanent, unique number assigned to a geographic feature for the sole purpose of uniquely identifying that feature as a record in any information system database, dataset, file, or document and for distinguishing it from all other feature records so identified. The number is assigned sequentially (highest existing number plus one) to new records as they are created in the Geographic Names Information System. The number, by design, carries no information or association to the content of the feature record and therefore is not subject to change as attribute values change. Once assigned to a feature, the number is never changed or withdrawn, and never reassigned. The Feature ID can be applied in conjunction with system-unique record identifiers in any database or system, thus providing a national standard common reference identifier across multiple datasets. The Feature ID is stored in the GNIS database as an integer with a maximum of ten digits.
FEATURE_NAME	A geographic feature name and its written form and application approved or recognized as official by the United States Board on Geographic Names for use throughout the Federal Government. The official name is established either by policy or by decision of the Board on Geographic Names. It is the proper name, specific term, or expression by which a particular geographic entity is, or was, known. A geographic feature may have only one official name, which must be the name applied to the feature on all Federal products, electronic or printed.
FEATURE_CLASS	A feature class is a designation for a group of features in a broadly defined descriptive category. All features are assigned to one and only one class. They do not individually classify all kinds of cultural and natural features. By design, there are no Federal or industry standards or guidelines for feature classification. These classifications originally were developed for mainframe file structure search purposes. Although the terms are generally consistent with dictionary definitions, they may not conform exactly and are not always intuitive.
STATE_ALPHA	The unique two letter alphabetic state code containing the geographic feature as specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Codes. Note: Some feature records in State files will display State Alpha and Number Codes for a State other than that requested. This is not an error. It indicates that the primary coordinates for the feature reside in another State, but that the feature crosses into and is included in the specified State. This also means that the feature record is included in both State files.
STATE_NUMERIC	The unique numeric state code containing the geographic feature as specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Codes. Note: Some feature records in State files will display State Alpha and Number Codes for a State other than that requested. This is not an error. It indicates that the primary coordinates for the feature reside in another State, but that the feature crosses into and is included in the specified State. This also means that the feature record is included in both State files.
COUNTY_NAME	The name for the county or county eqivalent containing the geographic feature.
COUNTY_NUMERIC	The unique three number code for the county or county equivalent containing the geographic feature as specified in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Codes.
PRIMARY_LAT_DMS	Official feature latitude location, NAD 83 DMS-degrees/minutes/seconds.
PRIM_LONG_DMS	Official feature longitude location, NAD 83 DMS-degrees/minutes/seconds.
PRIMARY_LAT_DMS_D	Undefined by source.
PRIM_LONG_DMS_D	Undefined by source.
PRIM_LAT_DEC	Official feature latitude location, NAD 83 DEC-decimal degrees.
PRIM_LONG_DEC	Official feature longitude location, NAD 83 DEC-decimal degrees.
SOURCE_LAT_DMS	Source latitude coordinates of linear feature only (Class = Stream, Valley, Arroyo), NAD 83; DMS-degrees/minutes/seconds.
SOURCE_LONG_DMS	Source longitude coordinates of linear feature only (Class = Stream, Valley, Arroyo), NAD 83; DMS-degrees/minutes/seconds.
SOURCE_LAT_DMS_D	Undefined by source.
SOURCE_LONG_DMS_D	Undefined by source.
SOURCE_LAT_DEC	Source latitude coordinates of linear feature only (Class = Stream, Valley, Arroyo), NAD 83; DEC-decimal degrees.
SOURCE_LONG_DEC	Source longitude coordinates of linear feature only (Class = Stream, Valley, Arroyo), NAD 83; DEC-decimal degrees.
ELEV_IN_M	Elevation in meters: The elevation above sea level of the feature at the primary point (positive number) or depth of a feature at the lowest point below sea level (negative number). By default, elevations are provided in meters. For custom data extracts, elevations can be provided in either feet or meters depending on user requirements. Elevation figures are not official and do not represent precisely measured or surveyed values. The data are extracted from the National Elevation Dataset (http://ned.usgs.gov/) for the primary coordinates and may differ from elevations cited in other sources. The differences will be most evident for features such as summits where precision is of more concern and where the local relief (rate of change of elevation) may be more prominent. However, the elevation figures are within tolerances for the data for most points and sufficiently accurate for purposes of general information.
ELEV_IN_FT	Elevation in feet: The elevation above sea level of the feature at the primary point (positive number) or depth of a feature at the lowest point below sea level (negative number). By default, elevations are provided in meters. For custom data extracts, elevations can be provided in either feet or meters depending on user requirements. Elevation figures are not official and do not represent precisely measured or surveyed values. The data are extracted from the National Elevation Dataset (http://ned.usgs.gov/) for the primary coordinates and may differ from elevations cited in other sources. The differences will be most evident for features such as summits where precision is of more concern and where the local relief (rate of change of elevation) may be more prominent. However, the elevation figures are within tolerances for the data for most points and sufficiently accurate for purposes of general information.
MAP_NAME	The name of the standard USGS 7.5x7.5 minute quadrangle map(s) containing the representation of the feature
DATE_CREATED	The date the geographic feature record was initially committed to the database and made available through GNIS products and services.
DATE_EDITED	The date one or more attributes of an existing geographic feature record were last edited. The attributes edited are not specified.
DESCRIPT	Based on FEATURE_NAME.
FGDLAQDATE	Date when data was downloaded from source.
AUTOID	Unique ID added by GeoPlan

USER NOTES:

GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the original data. During Phase I data compilation, a random sample of 10% of the entries in the system were visually verified against the compilation source data (large-scale USGS topographic maps) to ensure logical consistency of locative references (geographic coordinates, topographic map, and county. Subsequent data compilation and input processes include programmed validation checks for logical consistency, visual examination, and spot checks of data.

This dataset contains information about United States physical and cultural geographic features of all types and classes, with the exception of most roads and highways. Subsequent to the original data compilation process, which was taken primarily from Federal maps, the GNIS has become dependent on input from Federal, State, county, and local government agencies and other approved sources. The completeness, currency, and accuracy of the data varies by area depending on the quality and timeliness of that input. Accordingly, the Geographic Names Project actively seeks to expand partnerships with Government agencies at all levels and other interested organizations. The latest tools and methodologies are being applied, including web map and feature services, and joint or linked web applications, to ensure that local data are properly represented in the GNIS and through the GNIS to all Federal agencies and to the public. Feature additions or corrections are accepted for consideration from any source, and when validated by appropriate agencies, will be entered into the database. Local and State agencies are encouraged to submit data and to participate in the GNIS partnership program. Non-government organizations with valuable data are considered on a case basis. Authorized partners have access to web based transaction entry and edit forms, which submit data directly to the GNIS for review and inclusion in the database. Partners also submit batch files in most standard formats, and coordinate with the Geographic Names Project to develop joint services, processes, and applications for greatest efficiency. Data entered into the GNIS immediately is available to all web services and applications dependent on it. For additional information or to request user accounts for entry and edit of production data and web seminar training, contact gnis_manager@usgs.gov.

GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the attribute information within the original data.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names was created in 1890 and established in its present form by Public Law in 1947 to establish and maintain uniform geographic name usage throughout the Federal Government. The Board serves all government agencies and the public as the central authority to which name inquiries, name issues, and new name proposals can be directed. It is comprised of representatives of Federal agencies associated with land management and cartography. Sharing its responsibilities with the Secretary of the Interior, the Board develops principles, policies, and procedures governing the use of both domestic and foreign geographic names as well as undersea and Antarctic feature names.

The Geographic Names Information System contains information about physical and cultural geographic features of all types in the United States, associated areas, and Antarctica, current and historical, but not including roads and highways. The database holds the Federally recognized name of each feature and defines the feature location by state, county, USGS topographic map, and geographic coordinates. Other attributes include names or spellings other than the official name, feature designations, feature classification, historical and descriptive information, and for some categories the geometric boundaries. The database assigns a unique, permanent feature identifier, the Feature ID, as a standard Federal key for accessing, integrating, or reconciling feature data from multiple data sets. The GNIS collects data from a broad program of partnerships with Federal, State, and local government agencies and other authorized contributors. The GNIS provides data to all levels of government and to the public, as well as to numerous applications through a web query site, web map and feature services, file download services, and customized files upon request.

This data is provided 'as is' and its vertical positional accuracy has not been verified by GeoPlan. Accuracy of these digital data is based upon the use of printed or electronic source graphics which are compiled to meet National Map Accuracy Standards. Comparison to the graphic source is used as control to assess digital positional accuracy.

This data is provided 'as is' and its vertical positional accuracy has not been verified by GeoPlan.

None. Acknowledgement of the U.S. Geological Survey would be appreciated in products derived from these data.

The Florida Geographic Data Library is a collection of Geospatial Data compiled by the University of Florida GeoPlan Center with support from the Florida Department of Transportation. GIS data available in FGDL is collected from various state, federal, and other agencies (data sources) who are data stewards, producers, or publishers. The data available in FGDL may not be the most current version of the data offered by the data source. University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no guarantees about the currentness of the data and suggests that data users check with the data source to see if more recent versions of the data exist. Furthermore, the GIS data available in the FGDL are provided 'as is'. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no warranties, guaranties or representations as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the data provided by the data sources. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no representations or warranties about the quality or suitability of the materials, either expressly or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center shall not be liable for any damages suffered as a result of using, modifying, contributing or distributing the materials. A note about data scale: Scale is an important factor in data usage. Certain scale datasets are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes. Please be sure you are using the best available data. 1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the county level. 1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such as property parcel boundaries. 1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the multi-county or regional level. 1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the regional or state level or larger. Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact section of this documentation. For more information regarding scale and accuracy, see our webpage at: http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html.

REFERENCES:

Geodata.gov is a geographic information system (GIS) portal, also known as the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) that serves as a public gateway for improving access to geospatial information and data under the Geospatial One-Stop E-Government initiative. Geospatial One-Stop is one of 24 E-Government initiatives sponsored by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to enhance government efficiency and to improve citizen services. See the Geographic Names community in geodata.gov. - The National Map, is a seamless, continuously maintained set of public domain geographic base information that serves as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. The National Map viewer is a Web-enabled portal to all of the geospatial information contained in The National Map. This portal not only supports on-line access to the geospatial information, but also allows the download of digital data and creation of cartographic products. The GNIS supports The National Map as the source for the gazetteer search in Find Place function of The National Map viewer and as active names layers. - The National Atlas summarizes national-scale geographical information and delivers easy to use, map-like views of America's natural and sociocultural landscapes. This digital version revises a large bound collection of paper maps that was published in 1970. The Atlas serves a diverse populace as an essential reference, a framework for information discovery, an instrument of education, an aid in research, and a reliable source of government information. It includes stimulating products and services for children and adults to understand complex relationships among environments, places, and people. It contributes to our knowledge of the environmental, resource, demographic, economic, social, political, and historical dimensions of American life. Though it cannot display detailed map information, the Atlas directs users to other sources for this information. The GNIS provides geographic feature, location, and attribute data to the National Atlas. - The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that contains information about surface water features such as lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, springs and wells. Within the NHD, surface water features are combined to form "reaches," which provide the framework for linking water-related data to the NHD surface water drainage network. These linkages enable the analysis and display of these water-related data in upstream and downstream order. The GNIS provides geographic feature name data to the National Hydrography Dataset. - The GEOnet Names Server (GNS) provides access to the National Geospatial Agency (NGA) database of foreign geographic feature names. The database is the official repository of foreign place-name decisions approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (US BGN). Approximately 20,000 of the database's features are updated monthly. - LandView is a desktop mapping system that searches and maps selected information from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Census Bureau, and the U.S. Geological Survey. LandView contains a large subset of GNIS feature, location, and attribute data for the United States. It is available on DVD. See the LandView web site for information concerning the latest edition and ordering.

DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:

GNIS Phase I data compilation and edit - Feature name and attribute data were collected from the largest-scale USGS topographic maps available. These data are compared to the records of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Process Date: 19810501 GNIS Phase II data compilation and edit - Feature name and attribute data are collected from official state and local sources and other approved sources including historical maps and documents. Process Date: 19810501 GNIS Maintenance program - Federal and state maintenance cooperators submit new and corrected data in conjunction with their mapping and geographical information system data maintenance programs. The GNIS has an active data gathering and maintenance program. A web-based data entry and edit application allows authorized users to submit transaction data directly for validation and entry into the database, where it immediately becomes available to all web services and applications. A test and demonstration site with no connection to production data is available for review, training, and familiarization. Batch files will be accepted in most standard formats. Government agencies at all levels are encouraged to join this program. Other organizations and individuals will be considered on a case basis. For additional information or to request user accounts for entry and edit of production data and web seminar training, contact gnis_manager@usgs.gov or the individual below. Process Date: 19810501 Partnerships - the Geographic Names Project enters into partnerships with State names authorities and State and local GIS agencies to integrate name, location, and attribute data in the GNIS with State and local datasets. These partnerships utilize GIS and web technology to automate and simplify data maintenance, ensure data consistency, integrity, and accuracy, and meet the requirements of the Board on Geographic Names for national names standardization. Government agencies at all levels are encouraged to join this program. Other organizations and individuals will be considered on a case basis. For additional information contact the individual below. Process Date: 19810501 GeoPlan downloaded the data on January 9, 2018 from the United States Geological Survey at http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/download_data.htm in text format. Metadata was imported from https://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/download_data.htm. The original data extent was limited to the State of Florida. NOTE: This layer must be created in a file geodatabase as to keep correct field length. Please create a geodatabase before working on this layer. Geoplan completed the following process steps during QA/QC: -Modified original text file in a text editor to change delimiters to commas -Saved as a .csv and then exported into file geodatabase as a geodatabase table -Created an XY event layer from fields "PRIM_LONG_DEC" and "PRIM_LAT_DEC" -Selected NAD_83 as source projection -Exported event layer to file geodatabase feature class -Deleted all points with no spatial extent and points not within the extent of Florida (218 points). -Projected to Albers using NAD_83_to_HARN_Florida transformation -Uppercased all fields -Added field DESCRIPT based on FEATURE_NAME -Added field FGDLAQDATE based on date downloaded from source -Restructured table Process Date: 20180109 Dataset copied. Process Date: 20180223

MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS:

Projection                          ALBERS
Datum                               HPGN
Units                               METERS
Spheroid                            GRS1980
1st Standard Parallel               24  0  0.000
2nd Standard Parallel               31 30  0.000
Central Meridian                   -84 00  0.000
Latitude of Projection's Origin     24  0  0.000
False Easting (meters)              400000.00000
False Northing (meters)             0.00000

DATA SOURCE CONTACT (S):

Name:
Abbr. Name:
Address:


Phone:

Web site:
E-mail:
Contact Person:
         Phone:
        E-mail:

U.S. Geological Survey
Various
523 National Center
Reston, Virginia
20192
703 648 4552


https://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/download_data.htm

Louis A. Yost

Name:                   FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name:             FGDL
Address:                Florida Geographic Data Library
                        431 Architecture Building
                        PO Box 115706
                        Gainesville, FL  32611-5706
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