Geomancer is a web service API (in private beta) that rides on Google App Engine for geocoding localities using the point-radius method. Basically it converts a description of a place, like "5 miles west of Berkeley", into coordinates, a bounding box, and an uncertainty value.
Over the past 250 years, scientists have collected specimens describing life on Earth. These results are an irreplaceable archive of global biodiversity. They play a fundamental role in generating new knowledge and guiding conservation decisions. Yet over a billion specimen records remain unusable becuase they aren't geocoded.
The API accepts the following parameters. Values must be URL encoded.
| Parameter | Description | Example |
| q | The query to geocode. | q=chengdu, china |
| cb | Callback function name for JSONP. | cb=myCb |
| l | ISO 639-1 language code of the query. | l=zh |
| f | Result format can be csv, verbose, or empty for default JSON. | f=verbose |
| cdb* | Write geocodes to CartoDB by specifying a "user,table,apikey" triple. | cdb=aaron,my-table,my-apikey |
_* Your CartoDB table needs to exist with name, longitude, latitude, and uncertainty columns. Don't forget to georeference your longitude and latitude in CartoDB so they show up on the map!_
We're in private beta, so ping @eightysteele if you want to help us test the API!
http://beta.geomancer-api.appspot.com/api/georef?q=5%20miles%20west%20of%20berkeley,%20ca
{
"location":{
"name":"5 miles west of berkeley, ca"
},
"georefs":[
{
"uncertainty":14366.0,
"feature":{
"geometry":{
"type":"Point",
"coordinates":[
-122.372044,
37.876012699999997
]
},
"type":"Feature",
"bbox":[
-122.48779690000001,
37.784700600000001,
-122.25657750000001,
37.967211800000001
]
}
}
]
}http://beta.geomancer-api.appspot.com/api/georef?q=5%20miles%20west%20of%20berkeley,%20ca&cb=myCb