So that others can find the exact location of your monitoring site, you will need to know how to determine the latitude and longitude of your site. To locate the coordinates, you will need to work with a topographic map and have access to the web.

The best-quality maps we have found on the web are available at http://www.topozone.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and type the official name of your waterbody in the area designated "Place Name." If you are working with an unnamed tributary to a larger stream, type in the name of the larger stream. Select your state (GA) on the pull-down menu, and click "Search." This should bring up a list of all sites with that name. Select your site by clicking on the link, which will take you to a topographic map of the area. Locate your exact data collection point as closely as possible and click on it, using the green arrows at the edges of the map to change the view if necessary. A small red mark should appear where you click, allowing you to keep track of your site. Note, if you click somewhere else on the map, your lat/long site will change. Now go to the left hand column of the map and under USGS Topo Maps click on the 1:24/25K Series option, which will zoom in on the red mark.

Adjust its position if necessary. Select the Map Size you prefer and the 1:50,000 View Scale. Click on the Update Map button. Under Coordinate Format, select the one labeled "DD.DDDD" for decimal degrees. The latitude and longitude of your site and the name of the quadrangle will appear above the map. Print this map for your records, noting the scale, coordinates, quadrangle, and date of production, which may be obtained by clicking "Quad Info" in the upper right corner of the screen. For online registration, copy the link and paste it into the online registration form (always keep a hard copy for your record).

To obtain a hard copy of the topographic quadrangle map, contact the Georgia Geological Survey at 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Room 400, Atlanta, GA 30334. Phone: (404) 656-3214. The US Geological Survey may be reached at 1-800-USA-MAPS. Maps cost $4 each plus shipping and handling. To order the map, you will need the name of the quadrangle, the scale of the map and the date it was printed.