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HYDROGRAPHIC MANUAL 



should be checked against local usage. If a, 

 name is well established through long use 

 on maps and charts and is appropriate it 

 should be adhered to even though found to 

 differ from local usage, especially if the fea- 

 ture is of more importance to navigation 

 than it is to the local inhabitants, or if the 

 local name is an awkward or difficult one. 



When published names differ from local 

 usage, the investigation should disclose how 

 well established the local name is and the 

 origin of it. Dual names for the same fea- 

 ture are referred to the United States Board 

 on Geographic Names for decision. Such 

 cases should be documented as to sources 

 and history and should be accompanied by 

 a recommendation as to which name should 

 be accepted. 



Map sources which are easily accessible 

 to the investigator should be consulted for 

 geographic names, but an exhaustive search 

 is not required. The standard quadrangle 

 maps of the United States Geological Sur- 

 vey, and official state or county maps should 

 be consulted. Copies of the latter, when ob- 

 tainable, should be forwarded to the office if 

 necessary to support recommendations for 

 new names or revision of names. 



When map sources are not available, the 

 inhabitants of the area must be consulted 

 to determine the names used locally. Only 

 residents who have been long established in 

 the area should be considered as authorities. 

 Names of hydrographic features should be 

 obtained from persons living near the water 

 or who have interests connected with the 

 water. Judgement is required to evaluate 

 the information obtained and to gage the 

 reliability of the individual witnesses. It 

 is particularly important to determine the 

 correct spelling of names obtained from indi- 

 viduals. Legal documents will be found use- 

 ful when verifying the spelling of unusual 

 names, or names which may be spelled more 

 than one way. 



It is necessary to delete a charted name 

 when the feature no longer exists. The name 

 should never be transferred to a similar 

 feature in the vicinity. A typical example 

 is where a previous inlet through a barrier 



beach has been closed permanently and 

 another similar inlet breaks through several 

 miles away. This does not apply to an inlet 

 or point of land which has migrated from 

 its original position. 



7-15 Preliminary review of geographic 

 names. — When photogrammetric parties op- 

 erate in advance of the hydrographic survey, 

 the photogrammetrist will make an investi- 

 gation of geographic names to be applied to 

 each photogrammetric compilation. In order 

 that this work shall not be duplicated by the 

 hydrographer, the Geographic Names Sec- 

 tion will furnish a list of names which fall 

 outside the limits of the compilations or 

 which require further investigation to recon- 

 cile discrepancies. 



A chart, or charts, of the area will be 

 furnished containing all names taken from 

 published sources. These are considered base- 

 map names. Any disputes which exist among 

 published names will also be shown. Part of 

 the hydrographer's work is to check these 

 names with local sources and submit a re- 

 port on his findings. Many names are so 

 well established that a field check is un- 

 necessary. These names are indicated by a 

 check mark or are underlined, usually with 

 green ink. 



A copy of the chart should be returned 

 with the report. Verified base-map names 

 should be inked in black. New names or dis- 

 puting names should be inked in red. Dis- 

 puting names should be in parenthesis near 

 the names they dispute. 



7-16 Assignment of new names. — In an 



unpopulated area which is being thoroughly 

 surveyed for the first time on a large scale, 

 names may be needed for previously un- 

 named features. When such features, in the 

 opinion of the hydrographer, are important 

 to navigation and will need to be referred to 

 by navigators, in the Coast Pilots, or else- 

 where, he should list them in the descriptive 

 report, recommending suitable names. 



So far as practicable, names of the type 

 already in use in the area and that have 

 some historic, incidental, or descriptive sig- 

 nificance should be selected. Names with a 



