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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 Shallow Ford: 1731831

GNIS ID for Yadkin County: 1008597

GNIS ID for North Carolina: 1027616

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.

While FIPS codes have been assigned to all counties and states, a specific code has not been assigned to Shallow Ford. The following FIPS codes apply to the State and County:

State Code:  37 (North Carolina)
County Code:  197 (Yadkin County)

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 Shallow Ford, it is a point within Shallow 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 Shallow Ford, the GNIS GPS location is given as:

Lat:   36° 5' 6"   (or 36.09°)

Lon:   -80° 30' 59"   (or -80.52°)  

Regional Codes ...

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

In turn, the US Census Bureau has further divided each Region into Divisions. Shallow Ford is located in Division #5 (the South Atlantic Division).

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

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

Referenced GNIS Records ...

GNIS ID #1731831   (Name of Record: Shallow Ford)

Class: crossing

County: Yadkin

Map Name: Farmington

Lat: 36.0851373       Lon: -80.5164471  

Elev: 212 ft.