Where the place sits
Similar names need all three clues; use Wilmington, North Carolina (code 74440, estimate 126,809) with rank 230 and state-place pair 37-74440. For guide reading, Wilmington, North Carolina (rank 230) begins at 34 degrees 12 minutes 33 seconds north, 77 degrees 53 minutes 9 seconds west; the marker locates the entry, not every boundary. Rank 230 is comparison, not physical footprint; population estimate 126,809 positions Wilmington, North Carolina (latitude 34.20923) among included places. Read Wilmington, North Carolina (FIPS 37-74440) against North Carolina's Appalachian mountains, Piedmont hills, sounds, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain; identifier 37-74440 preserves local identity as the view widens.
Natural water references
The coordinate remains the actual locator; On a North Carolina map, Wilmington, North Carolina (code 74440, estimate 126,809) may be oriented through mountain headwaters, sounds, estuaries, and Atlantic rivers. The fact storms may open new inlets across the barrier islands helps frame Wilmington, North Carolina (rank 230); place code 74440 holds the state observation from drifting. The point for Wilmington, North Carolina (latitude 34.20923), 37-74440, may be compared with the drainage layer; Neither becomes a complete local survey. State 37 and place 74440 preserve the reference; use the water layer to compare the setting of Wilmington, North Carolina (FIPS 37-74440).
Landform and scale
The terrain frame for Wilmington, North Carolina (code 74440, estimate 126,809) is Appalachian mountains, Piedmont hills, and Coastal Plain; population 126,809 offers scale, not an elevation certificate. Rank 230 names the entry; for Wilmington, North Carolina (rank 230), the plotted marker is most informative when the terrain stays shown. Code 74440 holds it from becoming generic filler; Behind Wilmington, North Carolina (latitude 34.20923) is a wider geographic fact, north Carolina spans mountain, Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions. Terrain and drainage belong in one reading for rank 230; Land and water meet in the setting of Wilmington, North Carolina (FIPS 37-74440).
A connected settlement
It does not imply that every shown developed area shares one jurisdiction; place code 74440 names Wilmington, North Carolina (code 74440). Code 74440 is not a shortcut for jurisdictional shape; read 126,809 as the reported size of Wilmington, North Carolina (rank 230). Identifier 37-74440 preserves municipal identity; Human geography near Wilmington, North Carolina (latitude 34.20923) is connected to water and terrain. Wilmington, North Carolina (FIPS 37-74440) is part of its North Carolina setting; identifier 37-74440 prevents setting from replacing city identity. For rank 230, Wilmington, North Carolina (estimate 126,809) remains a defined entry inside a larger and changing settlement landscape.
A practical map sequence
A countrywide-to-local sequence introduces Wilmington, North Carolina (code 74440, estimate 126,809) through North Carolina; rank 230 then gives the plotted place proper scale. Code 74440 guards against a similar name; the Wilmington, North Carolina (rank 230) reference marker works when direction and scale stay constant. North Carolina supplies that frame; Water and terrain make better checks for Wilmington, North Carolina (latitude 34.20923) than a name without its statewide frame. It belongs to North Carolina, not only the plotted marker; a supporting geographic fact for Wilmington, North Carolina (FIPS 37-74440) is that mount Mitchell is 6,684 feet high in Yancey County.