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 Norris Ford: 1315609

GNIS ID for Morgan County: 1639778

GNIS ID for Tennessee: 1325873

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 Norris Ford:

Place (Community) Code:	53605
State Code:	47 (Tennessee)
County Code:	129 (Morgan 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:	47/53605
State/County Code:	47/129

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 Tennessee:	47		1325873
Morgan County:	47/129		1639778
Norris Ford:	47/53605		1315609

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

Lat: 36° 8' 14" (or 36.14°)

Lon: -84° 52' 20" (or -84.87°)

Regional Codes ...

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

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

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

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