Wikipedia:Notability (geographic features)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

places
, roadways, objects, etc.) may be called into question.

This guideline summarizes the existing overall consensus for geographical feature notability and provides guidance on inclusion of information about geographic features into Wikipedia.

Scope

For the purpose of this guideline, a geographical feature is any reasonably permanent or historic feature of the Earth, whether natural or artificial.

This guideline does not apply to geographical features in fictional works or to the features of other astronomical objects.

general notability guideline
, even if they are geography-based.

Sources

Even the smallest geographical features usually may be found in numerous reliable sources: you can easily see creeks in maps, sand banks in navigation guides,

the requirement of verifiability
.

A feature cannot be notable, under either

rare exceptions may apply
.

Natural features

Named natural features are often notable, provided information beyond statistics and coordinates is known to exist. This includes mountains, lakes, streams, islands, etc. The number of known sources should be considered to ensure there is enough verifiable content for an encyclopedic article. If a Wikipedia article cannot be developed using known sources, information on the feature can instead be included in a more general article on local geography. For example, a river island with no information available except name and location should probably be described in an article on the river.

Artificial features

Many artificial geographical features may be mentioned in plenty of reliable sources, but they may not necessarily be notable. The inclusion of a man-made geographical feature on maps or in directories is insufficient to establish topic notability.

  • Artificial geographical features that are officially assigned the status of cultural heritage or national heritage, or of any other protected status on a national level and for which verifiable information beyond simple statistics is available, are presumed to be notable.

Settlements and administrative regions

Engineered constructs

  • Buildings, including private residences, transportation facilities and commercial developments, may be notable as a result of their historic, social, economic, or architectural importance, but they require significant in-depth coverage by reliable, third-party sources to establish notability.
  • Artificial features related to
    GNG
    . Where their notability is unclear, they generally redirect to more general articles or to a named natural feature that prompted their creation, e.g., to an article about the notable road it carries or the notable obstacle it spans.
  • Train stations have no inherent notability and are not presumed notable for simply being train stations, but may be notable if they satisfy the
    subject-specific notability guideline
    , or other criteria within this notability guideline.
  • Road networks: International road networks (such as the
    independent
    of the subject.

No inherited notability

Geographical features must be notable on their own merits. They cannot

inherit the notability of organizations, people, or events
.

See also

References