THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGIC MAP COMPILATION (SGMC) GEODATABASE

Between 1997 and 2006, the USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP), in partnership with state surveys, compiled all 48 state geologic maps for the conterminous U.S. into a standardized geospatial database format to support mineral resource and geoenvironmental assessments as well as ore genesis research. Since 2006, MRP has continually updated the SGMC by incorporating new versions of state geologic maps, by resolving discrepancies (spelling/capitalization errors, non-standardized database entries, different database schemas, wrong attribution of spatial data when compared to original state data, distorted or shifted spatial data when compared to the original state source data, and inconsistent lithologic coding of geologic units), and by adding new geologic data as they become available.

The purpose of this release is to provide a new geographic information systems (GIS)-based dataset (a single ESRI Geodatabase) that incorporates numerous error fixes and consolidates all the state geologic map data into one complete dataset for the conterminous United States. This new geodatabase also includes many new state geologic maps that have been released since the original SGMC data were published: Idaho (2012), Illinois (2005), Iowa (2010), Minnesota (2011), Montana (2007), Nevada (2007) and Vermont (2012). In addition, several states have released updated data that supplement the existing state maps: New Jersey (updated faults), New Mexico (2003 – new age updates, new volcanic mapping), North Carolina (2007 – new polygons, faults and dikes), and North Dakota/South Dakota (replaced original SGMC surficial map with 2001 and 2004 bedrock maps). This new SGMC compilation represents a substantial improvement over the original SGMC individual state releases and is expected to be available by 2016 (http://mrdata.usgs.gov).