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Geographic names (Gazetteer Services) for Google EarthThe following links provide access to online Gazetteer services allowing queries of place names and geographic features (e.g. rivers, canyons, etc.). The World Gazetteer service is a good general service. However, it is better to download the Gazetteer service for a specific country if it is provided below.
Notes:
- The file will download to your Google Earth client and open in the Temporary Places folder.
- The file can be saved permanently into the My Places folder.
- Click on the downloaded folder and a popup box appears in the Google Earth Viewport
- Click on the Query link to open a web browser either in the lower half of the Google Earth client or separately.
- Make a query. If your query is successful, select the appropriate result from the picklist and press the button.
- A new folder will be downloaded into the Temporary Places folder.
- Google Earth will zoom into that location and an icon appears.
- To view the coordinates either click on the icon in the Google Earth viewport or click on the new item link in the Temporary Places folder.
- Cut and paste the coordinates from the popup box into another application.
- Caution: coordinates obtained from Gazetteers should be used only as a guide.
- For example, the coordinates for populated places often resolve to the Municipal Center of the city.
- The coordinates for rivers often resolve to the mouth of the river where it empties into another body of water.
Acknowledgements
Descriptions and links for each Gazetteer service are described on the popup box for each folder. The gazetteer services are retrieved from remote servers. Problems, errors and accuracy are therefore beyond the control of GBIF.
These scripts have been contributed by Derek Munro of the Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility (CBIF) to GBIF beginning on 2005-09-28. More...
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