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NYS geographic database opens up world of exploration
By PATRICIA DONOVAN
Contributing Editor
You're curled up in bed with three down pillows and a plush replica of Flower the meerkat when suddenly you're jerked bolt upright by the realization that you don't know how many waterfalls there are in the state of New York.
You go online. Google tells you there are 163 falls and where they are, but now you're wondering about the state's reservoirs and designated forests, and how many canals, hospitals, grassy flats, swamps, schools and streams it has, not to mention islands in St. Lawrence County.
Fortunately, Michele Shular, geosciences specialist in the Science and Engineering Library, shares your obsession.
She has developed the "NYS Gazetteer and GeoData Collection," a database of digital topographical maps and gazetteer information that makes it possible to easily search and locate 38,000 places, features and other geographic sites in New York State from your laptop.
The or at 645-2947, ext. 223.