GeoNames
 |
|
|---|---|
| free geographic internet database | |
| languages | English |
| operator | Marc Wick, Unxos GmbH |
| items | ~ 10,000,000 geographical names (June 2015) |
| On-line | End of 2005 (currently active) |
| http://www.geonames.org/ | |
GeoNames is a free geographic database licensed under a Creative Commons 'Attribution'. The data is available as a download and via numerous web services.
Database and web services
The GeoNames database contains over 10 million geographical names corresponding to over 9 million topographical objects , each categorized into one of nine classes and one of over 645 codes. In addition to place names in different languages, the database also contains longitude and latitude , altitude above sea level, population, administrative subdivision and postcodes . All coordinates use WGS84 (World Geodetic System 1984), as it is also used in GPS .
Worldwide distribution of 6.1 million entries on www.geonames.org (as of end of 2006)
World map with Geonames entries: blue are rivers and lakes (Hydrological, “H” code), red are cities and settlements (populated, “P” code), green are mountains and valleys (topological, “T” code), gray are others Landmarks (as of 2011)
Worldwide distribution of 10 million entries on www.geonames.org (as of mid-2015)
.png)
The data is freely accessible via a daily database export and various web services. The web services include direct and reverse geocoding , location searches using postcodes or the search for Wikipedia articles for given coordinates.
Wiki data entry
GeoNames aggregates data from various free and public data sources. The quality of these data sources can vary widely, and GeoNames therefore offers the possibility to edit and improve data manually. Places and translations in all languages can be corrected or added, coordinates can be shifted and the classification can be corrected.
Semantic web
All GeoNames objects are uniquely identified in the Semantic Web with a fixed URI as a web resource. When this URI is called, it is either forwarded to an HTML wiki page , determined by content negotiation , or a reference is made to the RDF description. The RDF document uses elements of the GeoNames ontology , which describes the GeoNames object properties by means of the web ontology language . The classification into classes and codes is done using the SKOS language. GeoNames objects are linked to DBpedia and other RDF linked data projects.
See also
Web links
Client implementations
Individual evidence
- ↑ GeoNames Country Statistic ( Memento from June 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) June 26, 2015: 10,056,066 total
- ↑ a b Dahna McConnachie: GeoNames founder opens up the GIS world. In: Good Gear Guide. November 21, 2007, accessed July 9, 2015 .
- ^ GeoNames Feature Density Map. In: GeoNames Blog. December 7, 2006, accessed July 9, 2015 .
- ↑ GeoNames Web Services
- ^ GeoNames ontology