PAPER TO PIXELS: MODERNIZING A LEGACY GEOLOGIC MAP USING GIS/GPS TECHNOLOGY

The Blue Ridge Scout Reservation (BRSR) in Pulaski County, Virginia, is a 17,500 acre scout camp located in the Blue Ridge province of the southern Appalachian Mountains. In fall 2015, scout officials asked the Geology Department at Radford University for assistance in preparing a geologic guide for inclusion in the resources section of the Reservation Conservation Plan. Previous detailed geologic mapping by McDowell (1968) showed that metasedimentary rocks of the Chilhowee Group (Upper Neoproterozoic-Lower Cambrian) compose nearly all of the BRSR’s bedrock geology. As the basis of our geologic guide, we determined to convert McDowell’s work into an updated, contemporary geologic map of the BRSR using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Adobe Illustrator software. Camp management provided pivotal electronic spatial data, such as the property boundary and the location of trails, that we integrated into the GIS map. We used an Environmental Systems Research Institute world topographic map layer to establish a topographic base. This particular layout, although conformable, was only temporarily in place until the most effective method of transfer to United States Geological Survey quadrangle topography could be executed. Adobe Illustrator provided the capabilities to upload the McDowell legacy map, trace the contacts and overlay the result onto the GIS map. The final map will be checked in the field to reevaluate McDowell's interpretations, as well as update, readjust and/or redraw any contacts.