Feature Class Definitions

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Feature Class Definitions


Class Definition
Airport Manmade facility maintained for the use of aircraft (airfield, airstrip, landing field, landing strip).
Arch Natural arch-like opening in a rock mass (bridge, natural bridge, sea arch).
Area Any one of several areally extensive natural features not included in other categories (badlands, barren, delta, fan, garden).
Arroyo Colloquial usage in southwestern United States. The valley of an ephemeral stream with a flat floor and steep banks or the ephemeral stream flowing through a valley with a flat floor and steep banks, either hydrographic or hypsographic (draw, wash, gully).
Bar Natural accumulation of sand, gravel, or alluvium forming an underwater or exposed embankment (ledge, reef, sandbar, shoal, spit).
Basin Natural depression or relatively low area enclosed by higher land (amphitheater, cirque, pit, sink).
Bay Indentation of a coastline or shoreline enclosing a part of a body of water; a body of water partly surrounded by land (arm, bight, cove, estuary, gulf, inlet, sound).
Beach The sloping shore along a body of water that is washed by waves or tides and is usually covered by sand or gravel (coast, shore, strand).
Bench Area of level to gently sloping land on the flank of an elevation such as a hill, ridge, or mountain where the slope of the land rises on one side and descends on the opposite side (first bottom, flood-plain step, level, terrace, tread).
Bend Curve in the course of a stream and (or) the land within the curve; a curve in a linear body of water (bottom, loop, meander).
Bridge Manmade structure carrying a trail, road, or other transportation system across a body of water or depression (causeway, overpass, trestle).
Building A manmade structure with walls and a roof for protection of people and (or) materials, but not including church, hospital, or school.
Canal Waterway, primarily manmade, used by watercraft or for drainage, irrigation, mining, or waterpower (ditch, lateral, sluice).
Cape Projection of land extending into a body of water (lea, neck, peninsula, point).
Cave Natural underground passageway or chamber, or a hollowed out cavity in the side of a cliff (cavern, grotto).
Cemetery A place or area for burying the dead (burial, burying ground, grave, memorial garden).
Census A statistical area delineated locally specifically for the tabulation of Census Bureau data (census designated place, census county division, unorganized territory, various types of American Indian/Alaska Native statistical areas). Distinct from Civil and Populated Place.
Channel Linear deep part of a body of water through which the main volume of water flows and is frequently used as a route for watercraft (passage, reach, strait, thoroughfare, throughfare). Not a Stream or Valley.
Church Building used for religious worship (chapel, mosque, synagogue, tabernacle, temple).
Civil A political division formed for administrative purposes (borough, county, incorporated place, municipio, parish, town, township). Distinct from Census and Populated Place.
Cliff Very steep or vertical slope on one side (bluff, crag, escarpment, head, headland, nose, palisades, precipice, promontory, rim, rimrock, scarp).
Crater Circular-shaped depression at the summit of a volcanic cone or one on the surface of the land caused by the impact of a meteorite; a manmade depression caused by an explosion (bowl, caldera, lua, maar).
Crossing A place at which a river or stream may be crossed (landing, ferry, ford).
Dam Water barrier or embankment built across the course of a stream or into a body of water to control and (or) impound the flow of water (breakwater, dike, jetty).
Falls Perpendicular or very steep fall of water in the course of a stream (cascade, cataract, waterfall).
Flat Relative level area within a region of greater relief (clearing, glade, pan, park, playa lake, salina, upland)
Forest Bounded area of woods, forest, or grassland under the administration of a political agency (see "woods") (national forest, national grasslands, State forest).
Gap Low point or opening between hills or mountains or in a ridge or mountain range (col, notch, pass, saddle, water gap, wind gap).
Glacier Body or stream of ice moving outward and downslope from an area of accumulation; an area of relatively permanent snow or ice on the top or side of a mountain or mountainous area (icefield, ice patch, snow patch).
Gut Relatively small coastal waterway connecting larger bodies of water or other waterways (creek, inlet, slough).
Harbor Sheltered area of water where ships or other watercraft can anchor or dock (hono, port, roads, roadstead).
Hospital Building where the sick or injured may receive medical or surgical attention (infirmary).
Island Area of dry or relatively dry land surrounded by water or low wetland (archipelago, atoll, cay, hammock, hummock, isla, isle, key, moku, rock).
Isthmus Narrow section of land in a body of water connecting two larger land areas.
Lake Natural body of inland water (backwater, lac, lagoon, laguna, oxbow, pond, pool, resaca, tank, tarn, waterhole).
Lava Formations resulting from the consolidation of molten rock on the surface of the Earth (kepula, lava flow, mawae, traps).
Levee Natural or manmade embankment flanking a stream (bank, berm).
Locale Place at which there is or was human activity; it does not include populated places, mines, and dams (battlefield, crossroad, camp, farm, ghost town, landing, railroad siding, ranch, ruins, site, station, windmill).
Military Place or facility used for various aspects of or relating to military activity.
Mine Place or area from which commercial minerals are or were removed from the Earth; not including oilfield (pit, quarry, shaft).
Oilfield Area where petroleum is or was removed from the Earth.
Park Place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a cultural or natural resource and under some form of government administration; not including National or State forests or Reserves (national historical landmark, national park, State park, wilderness area).
Pillar Vertical, standing, often spire-shaped, natural rock formation (chimney, hoodoo, monument, pinnacle, pohaku, rock tower).
Plain A region of general uniform slope, comparatively level and of considerable extent; can refer to the flat area of a large mesa (desert, grassland, highland, kula, plateau, savanna).
Populated Place Place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population (city, settlement, town, village). A populated place is usually not incorporated and by definition has no legal boundaries. However, a populated place may have a corresponding "civil" record, the legal boundaries of which may or may not coincide with the perceived populated place. Distinct from Census and Civil classes.
Post Office An official facility of the U.S. Postal Service used for processing and distributing mail and other postal material.
Range A single mass of hills or mountains; a complex, interconnected series of mountain ranges having a well-defined longitudinal trend (cordillera, mountain belt, sierra).
Rapids Fast-flowing section of a stream with turbulent flow, often shallow and with exposed rock or boulders, wheredischarge is mostly influenced by velocity rather than width and depth (dalles, riffle, ripple).
Reserve A tract of land set aside for a specific use (does not include forests, civil divisions, parks).
Reservoir Artificially impounded body of water (lake, tank).
Ridge Elevation with a narrow, elongated crest that can be part of a hill or mountain (arête, crest, chenier, cuesta, divide, esker, hogback, mogote, lae, ridge, spur).
School Building or group of buildings used as an institution for study, teaching, and learning (academy, college, high school, university).
Sea Large body of salt water (gulf, ocean).
Slope A gently inclined part of the Earth's surface (grade, pitch).
Spring Place where underground water flows naturally to the surface of the Earth (seep).
Stream Linear body of water flowing on the Earth's surface (anabranch, awawa, bayou, branch, brook, creek, distributary, fork, kill, pup, rio, river, run, slough)
Summit Prominent elevation rising above the surrounding level of the Earth's surface; does not include pillars, ridges, or ranges; can occur as a single isolated mass or in a group (ahu, ballon, berg, bald, butte, cerro, colina, cone, cumbre, dome, head, hill, horn, knob, knoll, mauna, mesa, mesita, mound, mount, mountain, peak, pu?u, rock, sugarloaf, table, volcano).
Swamp Poorly drained wetland, fresh or saltwater, wooded or grassy, possibly covered with open water (bog, cienega, everglades, fen, marais, marsh, pocosin, slough).
Tower A manmade structure, higher than its diameter, generally used for observation, storage, or electronic transmission.
Trail Route for passage from one point to another; does not include roads or highways (jeep trail, path, ski trail).
Tunnel Linear underground passageway open at both ends.
Unknown This class is assigned to legacy data only. It will not be assigned to new or edited records.
Valley Linear depression in the Earth's surface that generally slopes from one end to the other (barranca, canyon, chasm, cirque, cove, coulee, draw, fjord, glen, gorge, gulch, gulf, gully, hollow, ravine).
Well Manmade shaft or hole in the Earth's surface used to obtain fluid or gaseous materials.
Woods Small area covered with a dense growth of trees; does not include an area of trees under the administration of a political agency.

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