Geographical Names Data Base

Section 12 Auditing place name them accessible, often through Internet-based purposes, particularly if linked to other spatial data, records Spatial Data Infrastructures, to the widest possible as a name is an intuitive entry point to search for audience. A toponymic database can serve many associated information. Chapter 30 The Canadian In addressing data needs to analyze complex Geographical Names Data Base – an physical and cultural associations, our focus must be example of a national system on the toponymic data itself, its attributes, storage, combining data from different and accessibility so that correct geographical names are widely available. For a national toponymic jurisdictions database to be of optimum use, it is necessary to consider such questions as: what geographical 1 2 Helen Kerfoot , Kristina Kwiatkowski , names and what attributes should be included; how 3 Heather Ross will data derived from different sources be pulled together; how will data quality (e.g. accuracy, 30.1 Introduction consistency across the country, completeness) be planned and achieved; how will the records be kept Where is Flin Flon? Are St. Lawrence River and up to date (and what does that mean); how will the fleuve Saint-Laurent both officially recognized toponymic data be accessed and linked to other names? What was the formerly approved name spatial data. for Iqaluit? In Canada, geographical names constitute a significant part of culture, heritage and Distributed databases identity (Figure 30-1). They are formalized through In some countries, the authority for approving Canada’s national naming authority, the geographical names lies not with a single national Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC), and committee or names board, but with stored in the national toponymic database, the boards/authorities at the first level administrative Canadian Geographical Names Data Base (CGNDB). unit (e.g. province, state). In these cases, a national database must take into account the harmonization The need for toponymic databases of records from the different authorities, the Today toponyms can be gathered into municipal, process(es) for updating the data, and a framework provincial, national and regional databases to make for expanding, modernizing and rationalizing the system, as needed. 1 Former Emeritus Scientist, Natural Resources As an example of a national toponymic database Canada; Chair, United Nations Group of Experts on Figure 30-1 Road sign in New Brunswick, including a Geographical Names, 2002-2012 that includes data from various sources, we will 2 bilingual (French/English) town name; Village Toponymy Specialist, Natural Resources Canada, signage in Saskatchewan; Street signs in Lytton, elaborate on the development of the Canadian Geographical Names Board of Canada Secretariat ʔ Geographical Names Data Base (CGNDB) in which 3 British Columbia, showing English and Nłe kepmxcín Toponymist, Natural Resources Canada, (or Thompson) language toponyms from Canada’s 10 provinces and Geographical Names Board of Canada Secretariat 1 3 territories (Figure 30-2) are combined, updated 30.2 Early records of Canada's national regularly and made generally available through the names authority Internet. The CGNDB, unlike some national databases, is not created for a particular map scale, The Geographic Board of Canada was initially but is the authoritative database of Canada’s created by an Order in Council of the Government toponyms for use by governments, industry, of Canada in 1897. At that time the Board academia and the public. Secretariat in Ottawa started keeping card records for the names approved by the Board for places and features across the country. Within a year, provincial representatives were included in the Board to provide advice on name decisions. Not until 1912 did a province (Quebec) Figure 30-3 Example of a 1908 hand-written card create its own names board. from Board records (note: no coordinates were included in these early records) Although the early cards were fairly consistently compiled, the layout of the card, the amount of data recorded and the legibility varied considerably over time (Figures 30-3 and 30-4). However, the cards were a suitable source of data for national names lists, regular reports of officially recognized Figure 30-4 Example of a 1980 card created before toponyms, and for compilation the national database became fully digital Figure 30-2 Provinces and territories of Canada of gazetteer volumes for each individual province Provinces (blue): BC British Columbia; AB Alberta; and territory. Changes in jurisdictional responsibility for SK Saskatchewan; MB Manitoba; ON Ontario; geographical naming QC Quebec; NB New Brunswick; PE Prince Edward Island; NS Nova Scotia; NL Newfoundland and By the 1960s, the provinces had all taken over the Labrador. authority for making the decisions on geographical Territories (green): YT Yukon; NT Northwest names within their own jurisdictions, and in the Territories; NU Nunavut 1970s, the territories also took on these decision- 2 making responsibilities. However, card records, official names, “B” based on decisions from the jurisdictions, were still status categories kept for the whole country by the Board Secretariat. for unofficial names); the Today, representatives of provincial, territorial, and coordination of sets federal naming authorities, together with a of generics / Chairperson and advisors, constitute the feature type Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC), the designations that national coordinating body responsible for suited each geographical naming activities in Canada. The GNBC jurisdiction and members supply their toponymic decisions to the Canada as a whole. national Canadian Geographical Names Data Base A set of “core maintained by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), a fields”4, necessary department of the Government of Canada. Figures for all name 30-5 and 30-6 compare the composition of the Figure 30-6 Composition of the Geographical records, as well as optional data fields (e.g. Board in its early years with 2016. Names Board of Canada, 2016 unofficial variant names; historical/origin data) were established for consistency across the country’s toponymic records. 30.3 Establishing Canada’s In the early years of the national database, national geographical provinces and territories did not have their own names database databases. They provided paper decisions in various formats, containing the basic information on new The late 1970s saw the names, changed names, and rescinded names. The development of a digital data was entered by Secretariat staff, who database from the central card records, to increase efficiency 4 of gazetteer production and Core fields were considered as: geographical names compilation for federal name; province/territory; status of name; a cross- maps. Discussions led to a reference to an official name, if a name had structural framework more changed; date of decision; type of feature/place; standardized than the rather latitude and longitude; National Topographic free-wheeling presentation of material on the card System map at 1: 50,000 scale; sub-unit of Figure 30-5 Composition of the Geographic Board of records. Among the most important steps were the province/territory; narrative of location; graphic Canada, 1900 development of suitable data fields (e.g. name, representation showing limits of named feature type, coordinates, etc.); the creation of feature/place. status codes (for example, “A” status categories for 3 consulted the data providers whenever there were questions. Federal departments and agencies responsible for administrative entities (such as national parks and military reserves) also worked with the Secretariat to add their names records to the CGNDB. As well, the Canadian Hydrographic Service contributed undersea feature names to the national data set. By 1982 the national database was operational, containing some 350,000 approved names and over 100,000 unofficial names. Database users’ manual Since the 1980s a detailed users’ manual for the CGNDB has been compiled and distributed to those who supply data to the national database. As part of the manual’s content, lists of codes, with their associated terms and definitions, were reviewed Figure 30-7 Core content for the CGNDB Users’ and approved by all GNBC provincial, territorial and Manual federal contributors of geographical names data. To indicates the jurisdiction. Additionally, a code establish standards, the code lists in the manual identifying the province or territory is included in provided definitions of field contents, and how the each name record. data should be entered. New codes were created as Key attributes (fields) used in geographical names required, and updates of the manual have been records In each record, feature type is identified by a four- distributed regularly (see Figure 30-7). In order to facilitate data transfers, and matching of character numerical code, called the generic code provincial and national records, each record is given (see Figure 30-8). There are over 1000 generic As technology developed, some provinces and a unique identifier when it is created. This five- codes, with their associated generic terms, which territories created their own names databases to letter code, called the CGNDB key, identifies the fall into 11 categories, such as Populated Places or meet their specific needs. For some, this was for a record for its entire lifespan, whatever changes Water Features. Some categories are also divided mapping

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