DETAIL AND REGIONAL GEOLOGIC MAPS PRODUCED BY THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREAL MAPPING PROJECT

The Southern California Areal Mapping Project,SCAMP,is a joint cooperative project of the California Geological Survey (CGS) and the U.S. Geological Survey. The primary goal of the project is to develop new detailed 7.5’ digital geologic maps and synthesize new and existing mapping into regional 30’x60’ digital maps. The project began in 1990; USGS component of SCAMP is scheduled to end in September 2005. The USGS component is largely funded by FEDMAP of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP). Additional support has come from various U.S military bases, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Corp of Engineers, and a number of municipalities. The CGS work is funded by their Regional Geologic Mapping Program and STATEMAP element of the NCGMP. The project transitioned from producing analog maps to sophisticated electronic-digital maps. New mapping conducted in selected critical areas was at a scale of 1:24,000. Most 1:100,000-scale maps were digitized at the largest scale available, mostly 1:24,000 with some at 1:62,500 and 1:12,000. Emphasis was placed on producing geologic maps for the populated coastal and adjacent areas extending from San Diego noth to Santa Barbara and east to the Inland Empire. The resulting maps, mostly obtainable from the web, show a substantial increase in detail compared to preexisting regional maps and thus de facto, setting a new standard for geologic maps in southern California. The greatest change in the 1:24,000-scale mapping is in the detailed subdivision of Quaternary deposits, including landslides. The detailed geologic mapping has been critical to the development of regional debris flow susceptibility maps. To date some 75 7.5’ quadrangles and 8 30’x60’ quadrangles have been released. An additional 3 30’x60’ and 10 1:24,000-scale quadrangles are scheduled to be released in 2005. These maps are setting new standards for both detailed and regional geologic maps in southern California. The 11 1:100,000-scale maps will cover the most critical urbanized and urbanizing parts of southwestern California. The mapping has been used by local, regional, state, and federal agencies in geologic hazard analyses, land use planning and conservation, groundwater utilization and recharge, mitigation of groundwater contamination, major engineering projects, and as background information for numerous consulting firms for proposed developments.