Data from "Geographic Names"

jomu · 2010-08-30T11:59:14.000Z

Hi,
while I was looking for coordinates of some places, I found this page:

https://www1.nga.mil/ProductsServices/GeographicNames/Pages/default.aspx

Please note: “There are no licensing requirements or restrictions in place for the use of the GNS data”

When you go to
http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/index.html
and
ftp://ftp.nga.mil/pub2/gns_data/

you find lots of files with data.

Maybe the places (cities, villages, …) you be transfered to OpenStreetMap. That could be really useful for some African countries which are poorly covered.

Writing a script using these files and the OpenStreetMap API should not be too complicted.

What do you think about it?

Best regards,
jomu

cartinus · 2010-08-30T20:40:00.000Z

GNS data is notoriously inaccurate. So before importing anything from it, you might want to consult with people mapping in a country/area.