Free Geography Tools

An earlier post covered a Google-Maps-based reverse geocoder, where you could click on the Google Map interface, and get a list of addresses close to that point. Reverse Geocoder for the United States is another Google-Maps-based application in the same vein. While it doesn’t have as many features as the Geonames reverse address geocoding site, it uses the Google Maps interface better, with a larger map display (one of the largest I’ve seen online) and the sliding zoom control (missing from the former site).

It’s easy to use: click on a point on the map, and you’ll get a marker placed there, and the latitude/longitude displayed in a box at the upper right. Click on “Submit point”, and the closest addresses to the selected point will be displayed as markers on Google Maps, and in a list on the right. Click on an address on the right, and a marker balloon will pop up on the map at the corresponding address. It also gives you the Zip+4 postal zip code for the address, which the Geonames site doesn’t. You can also enter a latitude and longitude in the upper right separated by commas, submit the point, and get similar results. A companion site does geocoding – submit an address, get back the latitude/longitude, and the address plotted in Google Maps (make sure you include either the city/state or zip code in the entered address).

Coverage is limited to the lower 48 US states and Alaska. Geocoding seems to use the Tiger database, whose accuracy varies depending on location.