Geographic Names Database

Howard

Hi

I got some GNS place name data for France, Belgium etc. but when displayed, most places look like they are on a grid. Looking in the data, latitude figures all look suspiciously similar, i.e. lots of places with the same lat, e.g. 50.883333.

Are there any other sources of free place name data for Northern Europe that show more realistic locations?

Thanks

Howard

global_mapper

Howard,

I'm guessing that the coordinates are probably rounded to the nearest minute or something in the files which is why you see a lot of similar values. For most basic place name databases that kind of error would be ok as a difference of 2-3 km isn't really significant when talking about the location of something like a city or mountain.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Thanks,

Mike
Global Mapper Support
support@globalmapper.com

Howard

global_mapper wrote: »

as a difference of 2-3 km isn't really significant when talking about the location of something like a city or mountain.

Thanks Mike, I thought there would be rounding errors as most of the similar data ends in recurring 3s but as the uploaded image shows, all the towns in Belgium appear to be arranged along parallels! Looking in the data supports this, it is not the way it is presented.

Is there any better (free) data? I am making maps of the Great War period, 1914-1918 and whilst I can digitise the main places, I hoped to get a reasonable place name coverage to put the main places in context.

Howard

global_mapper

Howard,

You might try downloading the OpenStreetMap (OSM) Belgium data from GEOFABRIK Downloadbereich and load it into Global Mapper to see if it has what you need.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Thanks,

Mike
Global Mapper Support
support@globalmapper.com