This site contains the following search forms:

When you log on, the system adds temporary session identification numbers to the URL, so it looks like this:

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=921:10:6315419807150552990

If you bookmark or copy and paste this entire URL with numbers, it will not work in the future. Delete all after the word “gnispublic.” The correct URL is:

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic

To save a link to an individual feature record detail report:

1. Search for the U.S. feature and note the Feature ID or for the Antarctica fature and note the Antarctica ID.

2. Copy and paste the following URL exactly as shown for US features:

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:nnnnnnn

or for Antarctica features:

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:5:::NO::P5_ANTAR_ID:nnnnnnn

3. Substitute the Feature ID or Antarctica ID for the "nnnnnnnn"

The URL will return the requested feature detail report.

To save a link to a pre-defined list of features, copy and paste the following URL exactly as shown:

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:2:::NO::P1_FNAME,P1_CLASS,P1_COUNTY,P1_STATE:name,feature class, county name,state name

Where:

P1_FNAME: name = key word or words or leading letters of words in the name of the desired feature or features. Name Help

P1_CLASS: feature class = a value from the Feature Class pick list in the query form. Must be spelled and capitalized as shown in the list. Feature Class Help

P1_COUNTY: county name = name of the desired county. Must be spelled and capitalized as shown in the county list of the query form.

P1_STATE: state name = name of the desired state. Must be spelled and capitalized as shown in the state list of the query form. The state name may be included without a county name.

Any combination of the four parameters may be specified or omitted, and in any order (the order of the parameter values must be the same as the order of the parameter titles).

Any combination of the four parameters may be specified or omitted, and in any order (the order of the parameter values must be the same as the order of the parameter titles).

Examples:

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:2:::NO::P1_FNAME,P1_CLASS,P1_STATE:Philadelphia,Populated Place,Pennsylvania

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:2:::NO::P1_FNAME,P1_COUNTY,P1_STATE:Turlock,Stanislaus,California

Important Note: If you copy/paste one of these URLs from the browser, you must:
1) Change the first three-digit number after the equals sign to "gnispq." The number is the application version ID and subject to change, which will render the URL inoperable. The "gnispq" is an alias that will always work.
2) Delete the long number between the second and third colons (example: f?p=gnispq:2:673038824780788237:). It is a session ID assigned by the system upon access for that session only and will not work in subsequent browser sessions.

Yes. On the Feature Query Results page, click the "Save as pipe "|" delimited file" link at bottom left to save the entire results list to a local drive in a delimited text (.txt) format. This file can be imported to any standard database, spreadsheet, or text editor. For example, in MS Excel, click File/Open, select the file, then when asked, specify the pipe symbol (|) as the delimiter. (The pipe is the upper case or shift symbol on the backslash key of the keyboard, usually at the right end of the second row from the top.)

On the Feature Query Results page, click the “View and Print All” link at bottom left to open a new window listing all records returned for the query. Use the browser print function to print the entire list. Click the browser back arrow to return to the previous display.

The query results list might display features that were not requested for the following reasons:

A variant name. The database contains one and only one official name for each feature, but it also contains other names called “variant names,” which could be historical names no longer used, other names in local use that are not official, misspellings of the official name, etc. An entry in the name field will search all names, both official and variant, unless the box labeled “Exclude Variants” is checked. However, the results list lists displays only the official name. Therefore, if the name queried is a variant of the feature, it will not be the name shown in the list. Click on the name to see the Feature Detail Report, which lists all names. The requested name will be listed as a variant. If the “Exclude Variants” box is checked, only official names will be searched and returned in the list.

Secondary State or County. The database contains one and only one primary State and county for each feature, which are those containing the primary coordinates, the official location of the official name. However, for long (linear) features and large (areal) features, the database also contains secondary State(s) and counties containing the feature. The results list lists displays only the primary State and county. If the State and county queried are secondary for a feature, they will not appear in the list. Click on the name to see the Feature Detail Report, which lists all States and counties containing the feature. The primaries are always sequence number one. The secondaries will be listed with a sequence number greater than one.

This query will not return more than 2000 records for performance reasons. The GNIS database contains over two million features, and query of larger data sets could slow down or interrupt the system for all users. If you receive a notice that your request contains more than 2000 features, please reformulate the query or add additional qualifiers such as State, county, or feature class. See the GNIS Download site for access to large files of national, State, and topical data. Contact the GNIS Manager if these sources do not meet your needs.

In the Feature Query Results, the column titled “Map” is the name of the 1:24,000 scale USGS topographic map on which the feature is located. Although this map might be named after a particular community, this does not indicate that the features are “in” that community. The topographic maps are based upon a grid of latitude and longitude. Each map covers approximately 60 square miles and generally is named for the most prominent community on it. A map named after one community also can contain several other communities and portions of communities, each in turn containing multiple features. The name of the map does not indicate the name of the community containing a particular feature.

A feature with "(historical)" following the name no longer exists and is no longer visible on the landscape. Examples: a dried up lake, a destroyed building, a hill leveled by mining. The term makes no reference to the age, size, population, use, or any other aspect of the feature. A ghost town, for example, is not a historical feature if it is still visible. Valid features are never removed from the database, but become historical if they no longer exist. The GNIS is unique in containing such features, and additional data concerning historical features based on authenticated documentation are welcome.

Elevation figures are not official and do not represent precisely measured or surveyed values. The data are extracted from digital elevation models of the National Elevation Dataset for the given coordinates and may differ from elevations cited in other sources, including those published on USGS topographic maps. Variances between the NED and GNIS elevation data and other sources generally arise from acceptable tolerances, and 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. When the elevation figure is of particular note, for example the highest point in the State, then the actual elevation is recorded in the description field of the feature. The elevation figures are sufficiently accurate for most purposes of general information. Efforts are continuously being made to improve the accuracy and resolution of both GNIS and NED data, the results of which will be reflected at both sites.

See the Search Federal Codes link on the main query form. The former Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 55 database has been merged with the Geographic Names Information System and has ceased to exist as a separate entity. The GNIS Feature ID superseded the FIPS55 Place Code as the federal unique, permanent, feature record identifier. FIPS55 data, as revised and corrected by the Census Bureau, are preserved in the GNIS and are available for query and for download. The Census Bureau continues to maintain the previous FIPS55 Place Codes (renamed for clarity as the Census Code) and Class Codes in the GNIS for internal purposes and to assist systems that have not completed the transition to the Feature ID. The Search Federal Codes Data form allows users to query feature data based on the former Place Code and the Class Code. See also State Files with Federal Codes in the GNIS File Download Site.

To access the Federal Code search form directly without passing through the basic form, use the following URL exactly as shown below:

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:1:::NO:1:P1_SHOW_FIPS55,P1_SHOW_ADV,P1_SHOW_ANTAR:Y%2C%2C

Important Note: If you copy/paste one of these URLs from the browser, you must:
1) Change the first three-digit number after the equals sign to "gnispq." The number is the application version ID and subject to change, which will render the URL inoperable. The "gnispq" is an alias that will always work.
2) Delete the long number between the second and third colons (example: f?p=gnispq:2:673038824780788237:). It is a session ID assigned by the system upon access for that session only and will not work in subsequent browser sessions.

Yes. To access the Antarctica features search form directly without passing through the basic form, use the following URL exactly as shown below:

http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:1:::NO::P1_SHOW_ANTAR,P1_SHOW_ADV,P1_SHOW_FIPS55:Y

Important Note: If you copy/paste one of these URLs from the browser, you must:
1) Change the first three-digit number after the equals sign to "gnispq." The number is the application version ID and subject to change, which will render the URL inoperable. The "gnispq" is an alias that will always work.
2) Delete the long number between the second and third colons (example: f?p=gnispq:2:673038824780788237:). It is a session ID assigned by the system upon access for that session only and will not work in subsequent browser sessions.

Occasionally the query results page displays with column headings and a count of records returned, but the list is empty. This is an unresolved problem that will be fixed in a future version. In the meantime, just click on any column name or select another page of features from the box in the lower right. All records in the result list will display correctly.

Please submit questions, comments, or suggestions to the GNIS Manager at the address below.