RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Utah >> Salt Lake County >> Cottonwood Heights >> MiscellaneousIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Utah


The Commemorative Quarter for Utah







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 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 identifier 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 Cottonwood Heights: 2410245

GNIS ID for Salt Lake County: 1448031

GNIS ID for Utah: 1455989

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 Cottonwood Heights:

Place (Community) Code:  16270
State Code:  49 (Utah)
County Code:  035 (Salt Lake 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:  49/16270
State/County Code:  49/035

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 Utah:    49   1455989
Salt Lake County:    49/035   1448031
Cottonwood Heights:    49/16270   2410245

GPS Location - GNIS vs Census ...

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 Cottonwood Heights, it is a point within Cottonwood Heights 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 Cottonwood Heights, the GNIS GPS location is given as:

Lat:   40° 36' 53"   (or 40.61°)

Lon:   -111° 48' 54"   (or -111.82°)  

Determined by its statistical needs, the Census Bureau has defined a sampling area for Cottonwood Heights - this area also contains a map point. As with the GNIS code, the location of the Census point should be considered as being arbitrary within the sampling area.

For Cottonwood Heights, the Census 2010 GPS location is given as:

Lat:   40° 36' 55"   (or 40.62°)

Lon:   -111° 48' 54"   (or -111.82°)  

The map point defined by the Census Bureau lies 135.1 feet to the north<1> of the point given by the GNIS (see above).

Regional Codes ...

For statistical purposes, the US Census Bureau has divided the country into four Regions. Cottonwood Heights is located in Region #4 (the West Region).

In turn, the US Census Bureau has further divided each Region into Divisions. Cottonwood Heights is located in Division #8 (the Mountain Division).

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has created ten Federal Regions. Cottonwood Heights is located in Region VIII (Region 8).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created ten Management Regions. Cottonwood Heights is located in Region VIII (Region 8).

Referenced GNIS Records ...

GNIS ID #1440025   (Name of Record: Cottonwood Heights)

Class: populated place

A place or area having clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent population (such as a city, settlement, town or village). The boundaries may or may not coincide with the perceived population.

A 'populated place' record may have a corresponding 'census' or 'civil' record. The information contained in the 'populated place' record applies only to the class and should not be confused with either the 'census' and 'civil' classes.

County: Salt Lake

Map Name: Draper

Lat: 40.6196702       Lon: -111.8102104  

Elev: 1470 ft.


GNIS ID #2410245   (Name of Record: City of Cottonwood Heights)

Class: civil

A political division formed for administrative purposes (such as a borough, county, incorporated place, parish, town or township).

A 'civil' record may have a corresponding 'census' or 'populated place' record. The information contained in the 'civil' record applies only to the class and should not be confused with either the 'census' and 'populated place' classes.

County: Salt Lake

Map Name: Draper

Lat: 40.6149285       Lon: -111.81511  

Elev: 1463 ft.

Referenced FIPS Records ...

FIPS Code: 49/16270   (Place Name: Cottonwood Heights)

County: Salt Lake     (FIPS State/County: 49/035)

Class: U1

MRF Code: 168

MSA Code: 7160

The official website for Cottonwood Heights: cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/

The official website for Salt Lake County: www.slco.org/

The official website for State of Utah: https://www.utah.gov/


The official website of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN)

The official website of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

The official website of the U.S. Census Bureau

The official website of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

The official website of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Footnotes ...

<1>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the GNIS-supplied location is 8 degrees and a distance of 135.1 feet.









 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024