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Feature Type Thesaurus

The categories within the GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus are listed on this page. It is helpful to see this list, because it shows the breadth of information contained within the GeoCrossWalk Gazetteer.

Use the following links to jump to a section on this page:

A brief explanation of a Feature Type Thesaurus
An introduction to the GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus
A list of all features within the GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus

What is a Feature Type Thesaurus?

A Feature Type Thesaurus is a set of terms for categories of geographic places. These terms should indicate the nature of a place. It is used in association with a gazetteer (like GeoCrossWalk) to provide a template for organising and searching the gazetteer data.

The GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus

The GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus is adapted from Alexandria Digital Library (ADL) Feature Type Thesaurus, which has been designed to be used with the ADL Gazetteer.

The Alexandria Digital Library Feature Type Thesaurus (ADLFTT) is a high level thesaurus which uses broad terms to accommodate mapping in any part of the world.

To adapt the ADLFTT for use with a UK gazetteer, such as GeoCrossWalk, the following key amendments were made:

Redundant feature types, which are not likely to be used to describe features within the UK were removed. These included:
countries
gulfs
glacier features
badlands
tribal areas
volcanoes
The hierarchy of the ADLFTT was in some cases inappropriate for coding features within the UK and was changed accordingly. For example, the following ADLFTT hierarchy:
hydrographic features
.streams
..rivers
has been changed in the GeoCrossWalk FTT, to this:
hydrographic features
.rivers
..streams
Some narrower terms have been added to the GeoCrossWalk gazetteer containing larger scale data (e.g. from the Ordnance Survey Landline.Plus and Meridian datasets) than the ADLFTT was designed to accommodate.
Administrative geography terms have been adapted to better suit that of the UK

If you want to read more about the recommended changes to the ADLFTT for use with a UK gazetteer (GeoCrossWalk), download this .doc document:

Alexandria Digital Library Feature Type Thesaurus (ADLFTT) - Recommended deletions and extensions for use with Ordnance Survey Data.

Contents of GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus

The following is a list of terms which appear in the GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus. The hierarchical structure of the terms is indicated by named level.

Boundaries
Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Military Areas
National Parks
Political Areas
	Countries, Administrative Areas
		Parish Admin
	Countries, Electoral Areas
		Westminster
		Scottish
Reference Locations
Reserves

Hydrographic Features
Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Bays
Channels
Lakes
Rivers
	Streams
	Waterfalls
	Springs (hydrographic)

Man-made Features
Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Agricultural Sites
Buildings
	Commercial Sites
		Industrial Sites
			Power Generation Sites
		Public Houses
		Hotels
	Institutional Sites
		Correctional Facilities
		Educational Facilities
		Medical Facilities
		Religious facilities
	Library Buildings
	Museum Buildings
	Post Office Buildings
	Research Facilities
	Residential Sites
		Mobile Homes
Cemeteries
Fortifications
Historical Sites
	Archaeological Sites
	Roman
Hydrographical Structures
	Canals
	Dam Sites
	Harbours
	Marinas
	Piers
	Reservoirs
	Waterworks
Landmarks
Mine Sites
Recreational Facilities
	Sports Facilities
	Zoos
Telecommunications Features
Towers
Transportation Features
	Airport Features
	Bridges
	Locks
	Railroad Features
	Trails
	Roadway Features
Populated Places
	Cities
	Towns
	Village or Hamlet

Physiographic Features
Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Beaches
Capes
Caves
Cirques
Gaps
Mountains
	Ridges
Natural Rock Formations
	Arches (natural Formation)
	Hill
Valleys

Regions
Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Biogeographic Regions
	Forests
		Woods
	Shrublands
	Wetlands
Land Regions
	Islands
Research Areas

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Technical Information

Feature Type Thesaurus

What is a Feature Type Thesaurus?

The GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus

Contents of GeoCrossWalk Feature Type Thesaurus

Boundaries

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Hydrographic Features

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Man-made Features

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Physiographic Features

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Regions

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4