The Montana Geographic Names Framework (MGNF) holds names and locations for cultural and geographic featues in Montana. For most features, this is the Federally recognized name from the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). This is intended to include the names of all features, current and historical, that are shown on maps, except for roads and highways.

The 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.

The files available from the State Library include an ESRI feature class with the primary point and State-recognized official name of each feature. The distribution includes two additional tables. One contains the official names and additional alternate names for the features. The other has descriptions and historical information for certain features which the Board on Geographic Names or State Library staff have worked with.

The MGNF was developed from the Montana GNIS text file, the national all_names file, and the national feature description file dated October 1, 2016 that were available on the USGS web site at http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/download_data.htm. The State Library has performed extensive edits to the data, which are described in the Supplemental Information section of this metadata document.