Miscellaneous Information

Various Identification Codes ...

GNIS Codes ...

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) was created to address the problems caused by spelling and naming variations. The BGN will usually recognize an existing name or, when necessary, establish a new name for a geographic feature (such as a mountain, lake, river, stream, city, town, village, dam, bridge, etc).

The BGN names are kept in a database called the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and it is the official Federal repository. The GNIS is operated and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A unique and permanent code has been assigned for each name in the GNIS database. These names and identifiers are definitive and it is intended that they are to be used by all departments of the Federal Government:

GNIS ID for Stapler Ford: 157103

GNIS ID for Marshall County: 161574

GNIS ID for Alabama: 1779775

FIPS Codes ...

In a past effort, various federal agencies worked together to create a set of codes with a purpose similar to the GNIS codes. These codes are called the Federal Information Processing Standard (or the FIPS 55 codes). Although they are still used by some organizations, the FIPS codes are obsolete and will ultimately be replaced by the GNIS codes.

The following FIPS codes apply to Stapler Ford:

Place (Community) Code:	72805
State Code:	01 (Alabama)
County Code:	095 (Marshall County)

Since the Place and County FIPS codes are not unique and can be repeated in other States, it's necessary to combine the State code with the Place and County FIPS codes to uniquely identify them - for example:

State/Place Code:	01/72805
State/County Code:	01/095

As already mentioned, the FIPS codes are to be replaced by the GNIS codes. The following reflect those changes:

	FIPS Code	translates to	GNIS Code
State of Alabama:	01		1779775
Marshall County:	01/095		161574
Stapler Ford:	01/72805		157103

GPS Location - GNIS Coordinates ...

An important aspect of the GNIS code is that it assigns a GPS location (the latitude/longitude) to the geographic feature. This location is simply a point on the map and does not represent the size or shape of the feature. In the case of Stapler Ford, it is a point within Stapler Ford that might be a post office, the city hall or simply an intersection - the point should really be considered arbitrary and only indicating a general location.

For Stapler Ford, the GNIS GPS location is given as:

Lat: 34° 31' 7" (or 34.52°)

Lon: -86° 20' 56" (or -86.35°)

Regional Codes ...

For statistical purposes, the US Census Bureau has divided the country into four Regions. Stapler Ford is located in Region #3 (the South Region).

In turn, the US Census Bureau has further divided each Region into Divisions. Stapler Ford is located in Division #6 (the East South-Central Division).

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has created ten Federal Regions. Stapler Ford is located in Region IV (Region 4).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created ten Management Regions. Stapler Ford is located in Region IV (Region 4).