Maps

Introduction

Gazetteers will help you locate a place by giving you various attributes such as latitude/longitude coordinates, name of map quadrangle, and other locational or descriptive information.

Remember that indexes in atlases can also serve as gazetteers.

[ United States | Worldwide | Non-US Countries ]

United States

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)

 Containing officially approved names from the US Board of Geographic Names (BGN), this is the most comprehensive US gazetteer. In general, it contains features that would be on the US Geological Survey 7½ minute (1:24,000 scale) topographic maps, both populated places and other cultural and natural geographic features.

The National Gazetteer of the United States of America: United States Concise (US Geological Survey, 1990)

Single-volume book at Map Collection Reference I 19.16:1200-US

The National Gazetteer of the United States of America: [State] (US Geological Survey)

Map Collection Reference I 19.16:12p00-[ST]
As above, but a set of more detailed gazetteers for individual states. Only a handful of states were ever published. We also have computer printouts of geographic names for unpublished states, shelved on the gazetteer shelves near the Map Collection computers.

The North Carolina Gazetteer by William S. Powell (Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1968)

Map Collection Reference 917.56003 P886 N873 1968
Other locations listed in catalog.

TIGER U.S. Gazetteer

Online source containing names of populated places in the U.S. Census Bureau's database. Can also be located on the TIGER Map Server.  1990's vintage information.

Place Name Sites for US States

From the Arizona State University Library's Place Name Servers on the Internet web page.

Worldwide

GEONET Name Server (GNS)

A comprehensive worldwide gazetteer based on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) database. The level of detail varies, but entries usually contain features found on 1:250,000 to 1:1 million scale maps, both populated places and other cultural and natural geographic features.  It does not include geographic names in the United States.

Global Gazetteer

"This is a directory of 2,880,532 of the world's cities and towns, sorted by country and linked to a map for each town. Presentation Copyright 1998 by Carl Rosenberg."  Countries are listed alphabetically by internet suffix, so search the page (<CTRL-F>) if you can't find what you need.  Shows latitude and longitude down to the degree level (no minutes or seconds).  One of the few sources to include elevation, in meters and feet.

Oddens' Bookmarks: Gazetteers

List of online gazetteers covering various levels of geography, from metropolitan areas to the entire world.

Thesaurus of Geographic Names

The J. Paul Getty Trust sponsors a database of place names worldwide.  With 900,000 entries, it is not nearly as extensive as the GEONET Name Server (above), but some records contain short informational blurbs about a place's historical, economic, and cultural significance.

Non-US Countries

Australian Geographic Place Names

Online search of the Gazetteer of Australia.

Canada's Geographical Names (Français)

Accesses over 500,000 geographical names in the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base (CGNDB), maintained by the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (CPCGN).

Indexes to Ordnance Survey Maps of Great Britain

From the Ordnance Survey Map Shop page , choose the "Browse Products" tab, then under "Ordnance Survey" in the drop-down for "Choose a Series..." choose "OS Landranger Map" to find places on the 1:50,000 sheets in the "Landranger" series, with complete coverage of the island.  Just search in the "Find a Place..." search box.  A paper gazetteer covering this map series is available in the Perkins/Bostock Reference department at DA640 .O736 1989 and in Map Collection Reference at 914.1003 O65, 1989 .

Country Place Names

From the Arizona State University Library's Place Name Servers on the Internet web page.

Oddens' Bookmarks: Gazetteers

List of online gazetteers covering various levels of geography, from metropolitan areas to the entire world.