Open AccessStream Generic Terms as Indicators of Historical Settlement Patterns
Author(s) -
Jon C. Campbell
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
names
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.2
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1756-2279
pISSN - 0027-7738
DOI - 10.1179/nam.1991.39.4.333
Subject(s) - toponymy , plotter , settlement (finance) , sorting , computer science , geography , state (computer science) , cartography , base (topology) , distribution (mathematics) , archaeology , programming language , mathematics , world wide web , computer graphics (images) , payment , mathematical analysis
AbstractU.S. geographic names may be analyzed with relative ease using data sorting techniques with the Geographic Names Information System. An intensive computer search of the stream names in each state reveals and locates on base maps, using computer-driven plotters, unusual stream generic terms, such as kill, coulee, and cañada. Tables show the relative frequency and the distribution of toponymic generic terms. The study of selected generic terms in placenames demonstrates some degree of correlation with historical patterns of settlement and provides an instructive, but not always reliable, aid to historical research.