Need help in finding locational information for your collecting sites? A number of online databases are available through the Internet. Readers are encouraged to notify the Survey about other useful sites which will be listed in future issues of this Newsletter.
Natural Resources Canada Canadian Geographical Names Data Base is a source of over 500,000 geographical names in Canada. This is an interactive reference service that provides basic locational information (including latitude and longitude) and maps that can be downloaded. Information on toponymic products for sale (e.g. CD-ROMs, gazetteer files, etc.) from Natural Resources Canada can also be found on this web site.
For U.S. geographic names try the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey. The GNIS database contains records on almost 2 million geographic featues in the United States. Each feature is located by state, county and geographic coordinates.
The GEOnet Names Server (GNS) provides access to the National Imager and Mapping Agency's database of foreign geographic feature names.
There is a proliferation of mapping software now on the market. A good starting point to find something applicable to your needs is: http://geog.gmu.edu/gess/jwc/cartogrefs.html (maintained by the Dept. of Geographic and Earth Science at George Mason University) or http://www.yahoo.com/Science/Geography/Maps/ (Yahoo maps).