GEOnet Names Server (GNS) Services

GNS Provides the following services:

Web Map Service (WMS):

• WMS Version 1.1.0 *** (Get Capabilities Link): http://geonames.nga.mil/names/request.asp?REQUEST=getCapabilities
  You may want to try the following link to map it to your client: http://geonames.nga.mil/names/request.asp
  
  WMS Resources:
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Map_Service
  • WMS Public Providers: http://www.google.com/search?q=free+wms+services&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1
  • WMS Clients: http://www.google.com/search?q=free+wms+clients&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

Web Feature Service (WFS):

• WFS Version 1.0.0 *** (Get Capabilities Link): http://geonames.nga.mil/nameswfs/request.aspx?REQUEST=GetCapabilities&SERVICE=wfs&VERSION=1.0.0
• WFS Version 1.1.0 *** (Get Capabilities Link): http://geonames.nga.mil/nameswfs/request.aspx?REQUEST=GetCapabilities&SERVICE=wfs&VERSION=1.1.0


WFS Resources:
• WFS Public Providers: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us&q=wfs+services&aq=f&aqi=g-sx1g1g-msx6g-m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
• WFS Clients: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us&q=wfs+clients&aq=f&aqi=g-s1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Web Feature Service - Gazetteer Profile (WFS-G):

• WFS-G Version 1.1.0 *** (Get Capabilities Link): http://geonames.nga.mil/nameswfsg/request.aspx?service=WFS&request=GetCapabilities

*** In order to take full advantage of the WMS or WFS Services, you will need a WMS or WFS enabled client.

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Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant Web Map Services (WMS) Viewer:

Besides providing a viewer for NGA's WMS data, it also supports mapping and displaying other available WMS services (see WMS Resources above).

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Text Based Query and Output Services:

Search the contents of GNS, and display the results onscreen, or choose to output the results in one of the following formats: CSV HTML KML Shape file Tab Delimited XML Widen or narrow the search and output criteria based on selectable parameters such as: Country Name(s) Single or multiple feature name(s) First-order Administrative Division(s) Name Type(s) Modify Date Scale Range JOG Reference MGRS Coordinate Language Code Feature Designation(s) Minimum Bounding Rectangle (MBR or Box) or Radial Spatial filters More selections produce narrower search results. In search mode, results can be viewed in Quick or Detailed views.

You can search for multiple names by choosing the Multiple Names Search option above the Name widget. You can input 500 lines of individual names for search type Starts With, Exact Match, and Ends With. For Contains and Fuzzy Search, you are limited to 100 lines of individual names.

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Pre-Positioned Country files:

GNS database content, broken by country, is available for download as country files using HTTP or FTP connections. An extra file that contains the entire data set is also available for download. All feature names data is encoded as Unicode UTF-8. The following table describes the format of those files.

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Look-up Tables, or domain tables, can be queried and output using the GNS Text Based search page.

Once you arrive at the GNS Text Based search page, follow these simple steps to generate output of look-up tables values: Switch from Search to Output Click on the desired look-up table Select the desired output format Click on "Output look-up table name"*** *** look-up table name stands for any of the following available look-up (domain) tables: ADM1 Codes table: Describes the relationship between first-order administrative division codes and their names Country Codes table: Describes the relationship between country codes and country names Designation Codes table: Describes the relationship between designation codes and their short and long definitions Language Codes table: Describes the relationship between language codes and language names

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GNS Data and GIS Applications ***:

GNS data, whether generated through the text based search and output page, or downloaded as pre-positioned country files, can be brought into a variety of GIS applications. Below are links to Open Source GIS applications, and suggestions on how to bring GNS data into them.

ESRI's ArcGIS 9.x (http://www.esri.com/) can open shapefiles and can load pre-positioned country files (Unicode UTF-8, tab-delimited files) and personal geodatabases

• To enable Unicode support in ArcGIS 9.x, see ESRI's article on how to Read and write shapefile and dBase file encoded in various code pages at: http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.techarticles.articleShow&d=21106
• Personal GeoDatabases: Importing GNS data into ArcGIS.pdf

Most commercial and Open Source GIS applications can deal with shapefiles and the downloadable pre-positioned country files (Unicode UTF-8, tab-delimited files).

*** Information about grid reference systems is available at the web site of NGA's Geodesy and Geophysics.

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