The Cooperative National Geologic Map

Our Nation's geology informs decisions about resource management, critical mineral assessment, water quality modeling, infrastructure development, and risks posed by natural hazards. This site is an educational tool and introduction to the Nation's geology. The geologic layers were compiled using a standardized process, funded by the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. For more site-specific information, refer to the detailed geologic maps, and resources available in the National Geologic Map Database and from the State Geological Surveys.

1 Zoom to an area of interest and click/tap map to see the geologic unit and materials found at that location. Information returned in the sidebar includes the national synthesis description of the source map, a standardized geomaterials classification, a description of the source geologic map, and additional geologic publications in the area.

2 To change the geologic layer in view, click one of the four primary buttons, including Earth Surface, Quaternary, Pre-Quaternary, and Precambrian layers.

3 To switch between different stylized representations of the selected geologic layers, choose one of the radio buttons under the layers selector, including National Synthesis, Source Geology, GeoMaterial, and Age.

4 The selected style can be filtered by keyword by clicking the icon, found in the records table header. For the selected style, you can filter by any of the keywords that are presented, or you can enter a custom text string. Free-text search is especially useful for searching the Source Geology layer for a geologic map unit name, such as "Dakota", which returns all map units with Dakota in the name (e.g., Dakota Sandstone, Dakota Formation, Dakota Group). The Age style allows you to pass reserved words like "TO" to filter units with min or max ages between time periods.

Additional information can be found in the help guide and the about section. Help us improve this application by sending feedback on usability and performance through our comments form. Downloadable data and services links can be accessed from the publication page.