ajs%Ucb-Vax@hpfcla.UUCP (05/17/85)
This is a pointer to a source of data from the US government.
If you need a geographic locations data base, including names,
latitudes, longitudes, elevations, etc., don't do what I did, which
was gather it from atlases. Instead, you can order an incredible
quantity and quality of such data from the United States Geological
Survey (USGS) National Cartographic Information Center (NCIC).
They've digitized from best available maps the name, location, type,
etc. for just about every named node, line, or area in the entire
country. There are thousands of entries for each State.
Unfortunately, they don't advertise themselves very well. It took
several years of occasional calls, letters, and library visits to
stumble over the information below. Even the local USGS office did
not know about the computer mapping project. To get straight
information you should contact the central office:
Geographic Names Information Management
National Center, Stop 523
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, Virginia 22092
703-860-6262
From this source you can get a couple of handouts which describe the
data available. You can get each State's data in the form of:
* Mag tape ....... $75
* Printed book(s) $29
* Microfiche ..... $ 2
For example, the Colorado printout (which I happened upon at a
library) is two volumes, totalling about four inches thick, entitled:
Colorado Geographic Names Alphabetical Finding List (917.88)
Please contact them for more information.
Alan Silverstein, Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Systems Division, Colorado
{ihnp4 | hplabs}!hpfcla!ajs, 303-226-3800 x3053, N 40 31'31" W 105 00'43"