The U.S. Board on Geographic NalDes and Its Work in Foreign Areas

Abstract

Through its Foreign Names Committee and other bodies, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has standardized names of places and features in other countries, in undersea areas, and in Antarctica. These names are available for Federal agencies and other users in some 175 gazetteers, which present alphabetic listings of names and associated locational information for each country or area. An important part of the work of the Foreign Names Committee has been to develop methods for spelling romanized forms of geographic names in countries using a variety of non-roman writing systems.