GeoNames Applications

GSDNR's GeoNames Applications project addresses the integration of geographical names with both natural features and constructed entities. A key component of this project is the Canadian Geographical Names Service (CGNS), which provides information about Canada's geographical names over the Internet, and which allows applications to link through the Internet to official, geographical names databases and to create web-based applications of geographical names. The CGNS associates location, status, classification and other details with each official geographical name. The CGNS is part of the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) which makes Canada's geographic data and related tools and services readily accessible on-line.

Project Priorities:

• Ongoing development/maintenance of a national toponymic database
• Participation in toponymic geometry (delineation) model development
• Linking geographical names to their respective spatial entities
• Production of geographical names delineation in collaboration with partners
• Addition of precise coordinates (relative to the modern reference system NAD83) to toponyms in GeoBase, CGNS, and GeoNames web sites
• Provision of principles and procedures for the standardization of geographical names in Canada
• Web-based service as an access point to a distributed geographical names database

For more information, please contact the project leader: André Mainville

Related links

• Geographical Names of Canada
• Canadian Geographical Names Service

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