NOTE: This dataset is a California-vicinity subset of the nationwide GNIS dataset downloaded from the USGS GNIS website and processed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). CDFW processing included adding administrative named features from an archived California GNIS dataset (latest GNIS downloads no longer include administrative names, a subset of feature types that are mostly cultural, because BGN no longer has authority over them and no longer tracks them, but USGS still offers them in older archived GNIS datasets, and they previously made up about half of California's GNIS features). The updated GNIS portion of this release also includes updated/replacement names for derogatory names such as "Sq___" as described in Secretary's Order 3404. "Sq___" names still can appear in GNIS. If a name is historical, it was not updated since the definition of historical indicates that the name is no longer used or that the feature no longer exists or has changed function. Census Bureau "Sq___" names are managed by that agency and may not yet have been updated. The archived administrative names added to this dataset may also still contain "Sq___" names. This dataset does not include variant names as an updated set was not available from BGN or USGS at the time this dataset was compiled by CDFW. Any GNIS features lacking coordinate information and could not be located were also removed by CDFW. This is a multipoint form of the dataset, based on updated GNIS data downloaded in geodatabase/geopackage format from USGS then combined with the archived GNIS administrative names data that were converted from single point to multipoint format for compatibility.

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, a Federal inter-agency body chartered by public law to maintain uniform feature name usage throughout the Government and to promulgate standard names to the public. The GNIS is the official repository of domestic geographic names data; the official vehicle for geographic names use by all departments of the Federal Government; and the source for applying geographic names to Federal electronic and printed products of all types.