Geographic Names Informations System (GNIS) entries for caves are in the database but cannot be retrieved on the public website. In response to the 1988 National Cave Management Resources Act, Department of the Interior Regulation 43 (CFR Subtitle A, Part 37) forbids the release of information regarding the location of all caves on Federal lands.
Currently, the GNIS database is not able to distinguish between caves on Federal lands and caves that are not on Federal lands, so no features classified as “cave” can be retrieved on the GNIS database website.
Information regarding the location of caves in GNIS can be requested in writing from the office of the Secretary of the Interior. Each request will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Mail requests to:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
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What should cavers know and do in regard to White-nose Syndrome?
In response to White-nose Syndrome (WNS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and individual states request that cavers observe all cave closures and advisories, and avoid caves, mines or passages containing hibernating bats to minimize disturbance to them. The Service asks that cavers and cave visitors stay out of all caves in the affected states and adjoining states to help slow the potential...
Can you feel an earthquake if you're in a cave? Is it safer to be in a cave during an earthquake?
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White-nose syndrome is an emergent disease of hibernating bats that has spread from the northeastern to the central United States at an alarming rate. Since the winter of 2007-2008, millions of insect-eating bats in at least 37 states and seven Canadian provinces have died from this devastating disease. The disease is named for the white fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, that infects skin of...
How can I acquire or download Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) data?
Download Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) data using the U.S. Board on Geographic Names website. Query the database for official geographic feature names, their location attributes, variant names, and other data. Display, print, and download up to 2,000 records from a query.GNIS data can also be downloaded via The National Map Downloader. Define an area of interest on the map, then put a...
What is the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)?
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What is the difference between "mountain", "hill", and "peak"; "lake" and "pond"; or "river" and "creek?"
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Related Content
- FAQ
What should cavers know and do in regard to White-nose Syndrome?
In response to White-nose Syndrome (WNS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and individual states request that cavers observe all cave closures and advisories, and avoid caves, mines or passages containing hibernating bats to minimize disturbance to them. The Service asks that cavers and cave visitors stay out of all caves in the affected states and adjoining states to help slow the potential...
Can you feel an earthquake if you're in a cave? Is it safer to be in a cave during an earthquake?
There is nothing different about a cave that would make it immune to the shaking from an earthquake. Just as there are safer and less safe places to be on the surface of the earth during an earthquake, there are also various characteristics inside caves that make some cave locations safer or less safe than others. First of all, whether or not you feel an earthquake in a cave depends chiefly upon...
What is White-nose Syndrome?
White-nose syndrome is an emergent disease of hibernating bats that has spread from the northeastern to the central United States at an alarming rate. Since the winter of 2007-2008, millions of insect-eating bats in at least 37 states and seven Canadian provinces have died from this devastating disease. The disease is named for the white fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, that infects skin of...
How can I acquire or download Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) data?
Download Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) data using the U.S. Board on Geographic Names website. Query the database for official geographic feature names, their location attributes, variant names, and other data. Display, print, and download up to 2,000 records from a query.GNIS data can also be downloaded via The National Map Downloader. Define an area of interest on the map, then put a...
What is the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)?
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was developed by the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), which maintains cooperative working relationships with state names authorities to standardize geographic names. GNIS contains information about the official names for places, features, and areas in the 50 states, the District of Columbia...
What is the difference between "mountain", "hill", and "peak"; "lake" and "pond"; or "river" and "creek?"
There are no official definitions for generic terms as applied to geographic features. Any existing definitions derive from the needs and applications of organizations using those geographic features. The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) database utilizes 63 broad categories of feature types defined solely to facilitate retrieval of entries with similar characteristics from the database...
Why are bats important?
By eating insects, bats save U.S. agriculture billions of dollars per year in pest control. Some studies have estimated that service to be worth over 3.7 billion dollars per year, and possibly as much as 53 billion dollars per year. This value does not, however, take into account the volume of insects eaten by bats in forest ecosystems and the degree to which that benefits industries like lumber...
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