Kinda Interesting Things #239: The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Benchmark If you’re standing at the entrance to Central Park at Columbus Circle and look closely above the bench along the stone wall, you might notice a small metal disc with words engraved on it. This is a United States Coast and Geodetic Survey benchmark. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey began in 1807, making it the nation’s first civilian scientific agency. What started as an effort to map the coastline slowly grew

The United States and Canada are both modernizing their spatial reference systems. The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is updating the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) for the US, while Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is leading a parallel effort to update the Canadian Spatial Reference System (CSRS). The NSRS and CSRS are fundamental frameworks defining geodetic coordinates (latitude, longitude and height). Modernization efforts aim to improve the accuracy and efficiency of spatial data