Description: The Montana Geographic Names Framework (MGNF) holds names and locations for cultural and geographic features in Montana. For most features, this is the Federally recognized name from the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). This is intended to include the names of all features, current and historical, that are shown on maps, except for roads and highways.The GNIS is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, a Federal inter-agency body chartered by public law to maintain uniform feature name usage throughout the Government and to promulgate standard names to the public. The GNIS is the official repository of domestic geographic names data; the official vehicle for geographic names use by all departments of the Federal Government; and the source for applying geographic names to Federal electronic and printed products of all types.The files available from the State Library include an ESRI feature class with the primary point and State-recognized official name of each feature. The distribution includes two additional tables. One contains the official names and additional alternate names for the features. The other has descriptions and historical information for certain features which the Board on Geographic Names or State Library staff have worked with.The MGNF was developed from the Montana GNIS text file, the national all_names file, and the national feature description file dated October 1, 2016 that were available on the USGS web site at https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names/download-gnis-data. The State Library has performed extensive edits to the data, which are described in the Supplemental Information section of this metadata document.Projected in Montana State Plane NAD83(2011).
Copyright Text: The Geographic Names Information System was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
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Description: This table contains the official names and alternate names for every feature in the Montana Geographic Names Framework (MGNF). For most features, the names are from the federal Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). This is intended to include the names of all features, current and historical, that are shown on maps, except for roads and highways.The data were developed from the "All Names" text file dated October 1, 2016 obtained from http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/download_data.htm. The data have been modified to remove names that are not in Montana and to add names from the MGNF that are not in the GNIS.The table has a column, "Official", whose values are either "Official" to indicate that the name is official for both the GNIS and the MGNF, "BGN" to indicate that the name is official for the GNIS but believed to be incorrect for the MGNF, "Montana" to indicate that the name is considered to be official for the MGNF but is not recognized as such by the GNIS, or "Alternate" to indicate that the name is an alternate name the feature has been known by, but should not be used in official maps or documents unless the official name is also specified.
Copyright Text: The Geographic Names Information System was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Description: This table contains description and history information for some of the features in the Montana Geographic Names Framework (MGNF). For most features, the data are from the federal Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). The data were developed from the "Feature Description/History" text file dated October 1, 2016 obtained from http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/download_data.htm. The data have been modified to remove records for features that are not in Montana and to revise some of the information.
Copyright Text: The Geographic Names Information System was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.