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HYDKOGRAPHIC MANUAL 



Page 746 



Geographic names must not obscure nor confuse the soundings. On an inshore 

 hydrographic survey, it is generally necessary to place all the topographic names and 

 many of the hydrographic names inshore from the high -water line. This is especially 

 important in the placement of the names of small streams, sloughs, and inlets. Where 

 names have to be lettered in the water areas, particularly in very congested areas, a 

 judicious placement of the name and spacing of the letters will often avoid obscuring the 

 hydrography. In such cases the lettering may be spread out or closed up as the con- 

 ditions require. 



Geographic names should be oriented on the smooth sheet so as to be read from the 

 south regardless of the direction of the projection on the sheet (see fig. 170). Most 

 names should be lettered in a straight line parallel to the parallels of latitude and, if 



Figure 170.— Orientation of names on survey sheets. 



practicable, placed immediately east of the feature named. Where it is necessary to 

 place a name on a curve, the beginning or end of the name should be nearly parallel to 

 the parallel of latitude. A name should not be lettered on a reverse curve. Most 

 preferable is a compound curve with the flat part of the curve as nearly as practicable 

 parallel to the parallels of latitude. 



If the geographic feature to be named covers a considerable area, as an island or 

 bay, the name should be placed preferably in the approximate center of the area. It 

 should extend across the longest part of the feature and, if practicable, should follow the 

 general curvature of the feature. Such names should never extend beyond the limits 

 or even close to the limits of the feature in question. If the name is composed of 

 several words they should not be too widely separated in order to extend the full length 

 of the feature. Instead the name should be repeated a second, or even a third time. 



W^here it is necessary to letter a geographic name along a perfectly straight feature, 

 such as a boundary line, railroad, or channel, that does not extend east and west, the 

 following rules should be followed: 



(1) Where the direction of the feature is from east of north to west of south, the name should 

 begin at the southern end and extend toward the northern end. 



(2) Where the direction of the feature is from west of north to east of south, the name should 

 begin at the northern end and extend toward the southeast. 



(3) In the rare case of a feature whose direction is exactly north and south, the beginning of 

 the name should be at the southern end and extend toward the north. 



1Q13. Lettering Geographic Names 



All geographic names on the smooth sheet shall be left in pencil. They shall be 

 made with single stroke capital letters. The names of the topographic features, 



