U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEOHERITAGE MAPPING INITIATIVE

Over the past decade, there has been increased interest in geoheritage and many organizations have independently developed methods for showcasing this information within their own data products. However, a standard methodology or structured vocabulary does not exist in the U.S. for defining or describing a geoheritage entity. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NGCMP) Geoheritage Pilot Project was created as an initiative tasked with engaging subject-matter experts to develop a plan for a future national Geographic Information System (GIS) geoheritage project. A USGS Geoheritage Mapping Workshop was held in May 2022 to solicit input from international, national, and regional subject-matter experts, who discussed effective ways of mapping geoheritage information with the goal of raising public awareness about the cultural and scientific significance of unique geological sites. As a result, the USGS will be leading an effort in coordination with the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) and other Federal agencies, State geological surveys, and academia to develop the standards for selection criteria of geoheritage entities to provide a seamless, comprehensive, national geoheritage GIS layer in the USGS National GeoFramework Model. The standards will be based on scientific, educational, cultural, economic, and aesthetic values.

The first year of the proposed multi-year geoheritage project will focus on the compilation and evaluation of existing datasets at the national level that have geoheritage-like attributes (e.g., NPS National Natural Landmarks and Type Section datasets). Focusing on compiling existing datasets is the most effective and efficient way to develop geoheritage entity selection criteria, beta schema, and a structured vocabulary. This schema will be refined based on stakeholder feedback and expanded to incorporate regional-, State-, and local-scale geospatial datasets over time. The goal of the project is to create a user-friendly GIS product to provide a geoheritage educational tool for both K-16+ and informal education opportunities making geoscience more accessible and inclusive for the public.