The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

locating \locating\ n.
   1. the act of putting something in a certain place or
      location.

   Syn: location, placement, position, positioning, emplacement,
        situating.
        [WordNet 1.5]

   2. a determination of the location of something.

   Syn: localization, localisation, location, fix.
        [WordNet 1.5]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Locate \Lo"cate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Located; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Locating.] [L. locatus, p. p. of locare to place, fr. locus
   place. See Local.]
   1. To place; to set in a particular spot or position.
      [1913 Webster]

            The captives and emigrants whom he brought with him
            were located in the trans-Tiberine quarter. --B. F.
                                                  Westcott.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To designate the site or place of; to define the limits
      of; as, to locate a public building; to locate a mining
      claim; to locate (the land granted by) a land warrant.
      [1913 Webster]

            That part of the body in which the sense of touch is
            located.                              --H. Spencer.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To discover the location or site of; as, to locate the
      source of a radio transmission; to locate a leak; to
      locate the malfunction in a system.
      [PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

locating
    n 1: the act of putting something in a certain place [syn:
         placement, location, locating, position,
         positioning, emplacement]
    2: a determination of the place where something is; "he got a
       good fix on the target" [syn: localization, localisation,
       location, locating, fix]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

54 Moby Thesaurus words for "locating":
   allocation, assignment, bringing to light, casual discovery,
   catching, chance discovery, collocation, deployment, deposit,
   deposition, detection, determination, determining, disclosure,
   discovery, disposition, distinguishment, emplacement, espial,
   excavation, exhumation, exposure, find, finding, finding out,
   invention, lading, loading, localization, location, lucky strike,
   packing, pinpointing, placement, placing, positioning, posting,
   putting, recognition, rediscovery, reposition, revelation,
   serendipity, situation, spotting, stationing, storage, stowage,
   strike, treasure trove, trouvaille, trove, uncovering,
   unearthing