Undersea feature names
The undersea feature names shown on sheets and products of GEBCO and Regional International Bathymetric Charts (IBC) projects, and on international (INT) nautical charts are selected by the GEBCO Sub-Committee on Undersea Feature Names (SCUFN).
SCUFN maintains and makes available the names information in the form of a digital gazetteer. The October 2012 version of the gazetteer is available to download.
Name proposals can be submitted to SCUFN for consideration for inclusion in the gazetteer.
Find out about
- The role of SCUFN
- Guidelines and nomenclature
- Undersea feature terms and definitions web search
- Submitting name proposals
- Gazetteer of undersea feature names
- Data set acknowledgement
- Reports of SCUFN meetings
The role of SCUFN
The setting up of SCUFN arose from the need for a uniform policy for the handling of geographical names and the standardisation of undersea feature names. This was done in order to achieve consistent naming on bathymetric maps and nautical charts.
The role of SCUFN is
- To define the nomenclature used for undersea features, e.g. canyon, plateau, fracture zone, etc., as well as naming guidelines
- To consider and decide on names which have been submitted to the Sub-Committee
Guidelines and nomenclature
Guidelines and nomenclature are contained in IHO-IOC Publication B-6 "Standardisation of Undersea Feature Names".
- English/French version
(227 KB) - English/Spanish version (612 KB)
- English/Korean version (479 KB)
- English/Japanese version (820 KB)
- English/Russian version (771 KB)
- English/Chinese version (764 KB)
Romanization of Russian Geographical Names (UN System)
(611 KB) - (188 KB)
Undersea feature terms and definitions web search
Access the undersea feature terms and definitions web search. This includes imagery illustrating the feature types.
Names proposals
To submit a name proposal, download and return a name proposal submission form
- English version (48 KB) (208 KB)
- French version (49 KB) (265 KB)
- Spanish version (49 KB) (253 KB)
Return forms to
International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB) Principality of Monaco |
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission |
Gazetteer of undersea feature names
All names selected by SCUFN are contained in the IHO-IOC GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names, IHO publication B-8. The most recent version of the gazetteer was made available in October 2012.
Please note that a revised version of the October 2012 edition was released in April 2013, containing a correction for the geographic co-ordinates of the Peru Trench.
The gazetteer is available to download as
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (1583 KB)
The Secretariat of SCUFN is at the International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco, where the gazetteer database is maintained.
Please note — we aim to make the gazetteer data set available in forms such as shapefile, Keyhole Markup Language (KML) and as a Web Feature Service for use in Geographic Information Systems and with display/visualisation software.
Data set acknowledgement
If data from the gazetteer are used or reproduced in reports, presentations and other products then we ask that the source of the data set is acknowledged.
This should be of the form, including the appropriate version number:
IHO-IOC GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names, October 2012 version; www.gebco.net
Meeting reports
SCUFN meets on a yearly basis. Access reports from past meetings.
- 24th SCUFN Meeting, Beijing, China, 12-16 September 2011 (1.6 Mbytes)
- 23rd SCUFN Meeting, Navy Club, Lima, Peru, 11-14 September 2010 (979 KB)
- 22nd SCUFN Meeting, SHOM, France,
22-26 September 2009 (1026 KB)
- 21st SCUFN Meeting,
Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, 19-22 May 2008 (727 KB)
- 20th SCUFN Meeting, Monaco, 9-13 July 2007 (662 KB)
- 19th SCUFN Meeting, Bremerhaven, 21-23 June 2006 (378 KB)
- 18th SCUFN Meeting, Monaco, 3-6 October 2005 (279 KB)
- 17th SCUFN Meeting, St. Petersburg, 8-11 June 2004 (277 KB)
- 16th SCUFN Meeting, Monaco, 10-12 April 2003 (354 KB)
- 15th SCUFN Meeting, Monaco, 7-10 October 2002 (1481 KB)
- 14th SCUFN Meeting, Tokyo, Japan 17-20 April 2001 (487 KB)
- 13th SCUFN Meeting, Dartmouth, NS, Canada, June 1999 (563 KB)
- 12th SCUFN Meeting, UK Hydrographic Office, Taunton, UK, June 1997
- 11th SCUFN Meeting, International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco, May 1995
- 10th SCUFN Meeting, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, USA, May 1993
- 9th SCUFN Meeting, HDNO, St Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Russia, June 1991
- 8th SCUFN Meeting, International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco, May 1989
- 7th SCUFN Meeting, International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco, April 1987
- 6th SCUFN Meeting, International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco, April 1985
- 5th SCUFN Meeting, Ottawa, Canada, April 1981
- 4th SCUFN Meeting, International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco, October 1980
- 3rd SCUFN Meeting, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Patricia Bay, Canada, April 1978
- 2nd SCUFN Meeting, Canadian Hydrographic Service, Ottawa, Canada, February 1976
- 1st SCUFN Meeting, Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Canada, March 1975