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Miscellaneous InformationVarious 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 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 Pelican Rapids: 2396173 GNIS ID for Otter Tail County: 659501 GNIS ID for Minnesota: 662849 FIPS Codes ...In a past effort, various federal agencies created 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 Pelican Rapids:
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:
As already mentioned, the FIPS codes are to be replaced by the GNIS codes. The following reflect those changes:
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 Pelican Rapids, it is a point within Pelican Rapids 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 Pelican Rapids, the GNIS GPS location is given as: Lat: 46° 34' 12" (or 46.57°) Lon: -96° 5' 9" (or -96.09°) Determined by its statistical needs, the Census Bureau has defined a sampling area for Pelican Rapids - 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 Pelican Rapids, the Census 2010 GPS location is given as: Lat: 46° 34' 13" (or 46.57°) Lon: -96° 5' 9" (or -96.09°) The map point defined by the Census Bureau lies 96.6 feet to the northeast<1> of the point given by the GNIS (see above). You might note that the GPS location given for the 2010 Census is different than the location that was specified by the 2000 Census: Lat: 46° 34' 9" (or 46.57°) Lon: -96° 4' 53" (or -96.08°) The GPS location given for the 2000 Census lies 1,188 feet to the east<2> of the point given by the 2010 Census. Regional Codes ...For statistical purposes, the US Census Bureau has divided the country into four Regions. Pelican Rapids is located in Region #2 (the Midwest Region). In turn, the US Census Bureau has further divided each Region into Divisions. Pelican Rapids is located in Division #4 (the West North-Central Division). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has created ten Federal Regions. Pelican Rapids is located in Region V (Region 5). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created ten Management Regions. Pelican Rapids is located in Region V (Region 5). ZIP Codes ...While some people have used a ZIP code to identify a community, the purpose of the ZIP code was to make mail delivery more efficient by grouping addresses together. Although the ZIP Code doesn't specifically identify a city like Pelican Rapids, it does identify addresses that are in (or near) Pelican Rapids. It's important to remember that the boundaries of a ZIP Code are defined by the needs of the USPS and can be changed, re-assigned or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. The ZIP code for Pelican Rapids: 56572<3> Referenced GNIS Records ...GNIS ID #649246 (Name of Record: Pelican Rapids) 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: Otter Tail Map Name: Pelican Rapids Lat: 46.5707924 Lon: -96.0831124 Elev: 398 ft. GNIS ID #2396173 (Name of Record: City of Pelican Rapids) 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: Otter Tail Map Name: Pelican Rapids Lat: 46.5700615 Lon: -96.08607 Elev: 394 ft. Referenced FIPS Records ...FIPS Code: 27/50164 (Place Name: Pelican Rapids) County: Otter Tail (FIPS State/County: 27/111) Class: C5 GSA Code: 5570 MRF Code: 3015 Off-the-Road Links ...The official website for Pelican Rapids: www.pelicanrapids.com/ The official website for Otter Tail County: www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/ The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.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 ...
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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024