Two new tools for utilizing USGS Geographic Names Information System
National Geographic Names Data Base have been contributed to the
moon as GNIS.tar. The contents include the following:
m.gnis.sh shell script that calls 2 C progs and also
does formatting and coordinate conversions (ll to
UTM). This gets GNIS data prepped for s.gnis.
s.gnis program that creates site files by feature type
at a user specified summary level ie, 7.5' quad,
county, or UTM zone. The site file naming
convention is: summary_level.feature, EX.
Champaign.school (all schools in Champaign County).
The README files should cover everything.
The GNIS National Names Data Base contains about 2 million geographic
feature names in the US-populated places, schools, cemetaries, parks,
etc. Pretty much any feature on a printed 7.5' Quad. It is not complete,
at least for quads we have checked in Illinois, but its a cheap, quick
way to get site data. USGS sells data by state, with ample documentation,
per their pricing structure.
Enhancements- m.gnis.sh is a baling wire solution that works. A program
that incorporates what m.gnis.sh does into one seamless
tape extraction,format,coord conversion,reformat, would
be neater. Send any comments or fixes to:
Tom D'Avello
Soil Conservation Service
Champaign, IL
s17@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu