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Alexandria Digital Library Feature Type Thesaurus

University of California, Santa Barbara

Version of July 3, 2002

Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,2003, 2004. The Regents of the University of California. All Rights Reserved.



Metadata for ADL FTT

Release Notes for this version of the ADL FTT

Click on letters above to begin exploring the thesaurus to find the terms used to categorize geographic places/features in the Alexandria Digital Library Gazetteer. More information about the browse lists below .

Thesaurus: A set of terms representing concepts and the relationships among the terms, including hierarchy, equivalence, and associative relationships.

ADL Feature Type Thesaurus: A set of terms for categories of geographic places; terms to indicate the nature of a place. It has been designed to be used with the Alexandria Digital Library (ADL) Gazetteer http://www.alexandria.ucsb.edu/gazetteer/ .

Example thesaurus entry with explanations:

canals » A feature type category for places such as the Erie Canal.

Used for: » The category canals is used instead of any of the following.

  • canal bends
  • canalized streams
  • ditch mouths
  • ditches
  • drainage canals
  • drainage ditches
  • … more …
Broader Terms: hydrographic structures » Canals is a sub-type of "hydrographic structures."

Related Terms: » The following is a list of other categories related to canals (non-hierarchial relationships)

  • channels
  • locks
  • transportation features
  • tunnels
Scope Note: Manmade waterway used by watercraft or for drainage, irrigation, mining, or water power. » Definition of canals .
There are also report versions of the same set of vocabulary which you can view:
Hierarchical Listing of Preferred Terms

Alphabetical Listing of All Terms

Example of the browse list: Terms that appear in italics are "non-preferred" (invalid) terms that lead to the "preferred" (valid) terms that are actual category terms. For example, if you click on canalized streams you will see that it says "Use: canals". Italicized terms are the ones that show up in the Used For lists.

The current release includes terms added from the NIMA set of categories for their gazetteer entries. In many cases, the NIMA terms are more specific than the depth of this thesaurus; therefore, a specific term like banana plantation has been related to the preferred (i.e., broader term) "agricultural sites." The latest version also contains terms added while reconverting the USGS GNIS gazetteer.

Link to the ADL Gazetteer Server Development page

Send your comments to: Linda Hill

Visit our Page: Alexandria Digital Library Project

MultiTes Thesaurus software (version 7.2) has been used to create this thesaurus.

Page last modified: November 16, 2004