Geographic Names Information System: National Geographic Names Data Base, Michigan Geographic Names

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to meet major national needs regarding geographic names and their standardization and dissemination. This dataset consists of standard report files written from the National Geographic Names Data Base, one of five data bases maintained in the GNIS. A standard format data file containing Michigan place names and geographic features such as towns, schools, reservoirs, parks, streams, valleys, springs and ridges is accompanied by a file that provides a Cross-Reference to USGS 7.5 x 7.5 minute quadrangle maps for each feature. The records in the data files are organized alphabetically by place or feature name. The other variables available in the dataset include: Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) state/county codes, Geographic Coordinates -- latitude and longitude to degrees, minutes, and seconds followed by a single digit alpha directional character, and a GNIS Map Code that can be used with the Cross-Reference file to provide the name of the 7.5 x 7.5 minute quadrangle map that contains that geographic feature.