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Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

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At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
USGS1979

Water resources of the St. Louis River watershed, northeastern Minnesota

The St. Louis River is the largest tributary to Lake Superior in Minnesota. It drains a predominantly forested area of about 3,650 mi 2 (Minnesota Department of Conservation, 1959) and discharges into the lake at Duluth. The Mesabi Iron Range, noted for rich deposits of iron ore, parallels much of the northern watershed boundary. Large areas of land were altered by mining activities, as seen on the Landsat-1 MSS 7 images for September 26, 19744 (No. 1795-16203). The northeastward-trending string of water bodies along the northern boundary are flooded mine pits and tailings basins. The northeastern part of the watershed is largely State and National forest, whereas much of the southwestern and central parts are peat-covered wetlands. Generalized topographic features are shown on the map above. The topographic high along the northern boundary includes the Iron Range and is dissected by post-glacial drainage. The most notable drainage gap is that occupied by the Embarrass River. The series of southwestward-trending elongate hills in the eastern part of the watershed, visible on both the Landsat image and the topographic map, is the Toimi Drumlin Field (Wright, 1972). Topographically low, relatively flat land in the southwestern and central parts is a glacial lake plain. St. Louis River gradients are highly variable, being 9 ft/mi from its headwaters to the mouth of Partridge River, slightly more than 1 ft/mi from Partridge River to Cloquet, and 35 to 40 ft/mi in a 15-mi reach below Cloquest. The watershed is sparsely settled except for its northern and south-eastern parts. About 80 percent of the urban population lives on the Iron Range. Most of the suburban and rural residents alro live on or near the range or in the southeastern part of the watershed. Total population (1970), exclusive of those in the city of Duluth, which is included in the Lake Superior watershed (Olcott and others, 1976), was about 117,000.

Minnesota↗
USGS2009

USGS standard quadrangle maps for emergency response

The 1:24,000-scale topographic quadrangle was the primary product of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Mapping Program from 1947-1992. This map series includes about 54,000 map sheets for the conterminous United States, and is the only uniform map series ever produced that covers this area at such a large scale. This map series partially was revised under several programs, starting as early as 1968, but these programs were not adequate to keep the series current. Through the 1990s the emphasis of the USGS mapping program shifted away from topographic maps and toward more specialized digital data products. Topographic map revision dropped off rapidly after 1999, and stopped completely by 2004. Since 2001, emergency-response and homeland security requirement have revived the question of whether a standard national topographic series is needed. Emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and California wildfires in 2007-08 demonstrated that familiar maps are important to first responders. Maps that have a standard scale, extent, and grids help reduce confusion and save time in emergencies. Traditional maps are designed to allow the human brain to quickly process large amounts of information, and depend on artistic layout and design that cannot be fully automated. In spite of technical advances, creating a traditional, general-purpose topographic map is still expensive. Although the content and layout of traditional topographic maps probably is still desirable, the preferred packaging and delivery of maps has changed. Digital image files are now desired by most users, but to be useful to the emergency-response community, these files must be easy to view and easy to print without specialized geographic information system expertise or software.

Book↗
USGS1903

Hartville folio, Wyoming

The Geological Survey is making a geologic map of the United States, which necessitates the preparation of a topographic bas map. The two are being issue together in the form of an atlas, the parts of which are called folios. Each folio consists of a topographic base map and geologic maps of a small area of country, together with explanatory and descriptive texts.

Wyoming↗
USGS2020

Improving the positional and vertical accuracy of named summits above 13,000 ft in the United States

The National Map (TNM) portal provides public access to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) high-resolution topographic datasets, and maps from the Historical Topographic Map Collection (HTMC). Elevation values shown on HTMC maps were obtained from ground spot elevation measurements, as compared to today’s elevation measurements derived from more efficient methods, such as lidar, radar, or sonar. These spot elevations were collected either by levelling in the field or by photogrammetrists in the office, and are called mass points with post-spacings of two-arc seconds (arcsec), approximately 60 meters depending on latitude, in steep terrain and one-half arcsec, approximately 15 meters, in flat terrain (Federal Geographic Data Committee 1997). The vertical accuracy of spot elevations is ± 10 feet. Most spot elevations were used only in contour derivation to create a more spatially continuous representations of terrain, but some were also labelled on the maps to supply accurate elevations of culturally important features such as mountain peaks, gaps, and road junctions.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2001

Digital geologic map of the Fawnskin 7.5' quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California

Version 1.1 of this Open-File Report contains a digital geologic map and map database of the Fawnskin 7.5' quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California, that includes: 1. ARC/INFO (Environmental Systems Research Institute) version 7.2.1 double-precision coverages of the various elements of the geologic map 2. A PostScript (.ps) file to plot the geologic map on a topographic base, containing a Correlation of Map Units diagram and a Description of Map Units 3. Portable Document Format (.pdf) files of: a. This Readme; includes in Appendix I, data contained in fskn_met.txt b. The same graphic as plotted in 2 above. (Test plots from this .pdf do not produce 1:24,000-scale maps. Adobe Acrobat page-size settings control map scale.) This release includes features not found in most other digital geologic maps, in that all polygons, lines, and points in the coverage are encoded with detailed, comprehensive geologic data contained in six INFO data tables (.rel). (See Matti and others, 1998a, 1998b, and 1998c, for information on how the encoding may be accessed and utilized.) No paper map is included in the Open-File Report, but a PostScript plot file containing an image of the geologic map sheet, topographic base, Correlation of Map Units (CMU), and detailed Description of Map Units (DMU) is. The Correlation of Map Units and Description of Map Units are in the editorial format of USGS Miscellaneous Investigations Series maps (I-maps) but have not been edited to comply with I-map standards. Within the geologic map data package, map units are identified by such standard geologic-map criteria as formation name, age, and lithology. Even though this is an author-prepared report, every attempt has been made to closely adhere to the stratigraphic nomenclature of the U.S. Geological Survey. Descriptions of units can be obtained by viewing or plotting the .pdf file (3b above) or plotting the PostScript file (2 above). If roads in some areas, especially roads that parallel topographic contours, do not show well on plots of the geologic map, we recommend use of the USGS Fawnskin 7.5' topographic quadrangle in conjunction with the geologic map.

California↗
USGS2013

The role of photogeologic mapping in traverse planning: Lessons from DRATS 2010 activities

We produced a 1:24,000 scale photogeologic map of the Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS) 2010 simulated lunar mission traverse area and surrounding environments located within the northeastern part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field (SFVF), north-central Arizona. To mimic an exploratory mission, we approached the region “blindly” by rejecting prior knowledge or preconceived notions of the regional geologic setting and focused instead only on image and topographic base maps that were intended to be equivalent to pre-cursor mission “orbital returns”. We used photogeologic mapping techniques equivalent to those employed during the construction of modern planetary geologic maps. Based on image and topographic base maps, we identified 4 surficial units (talus, channel, dissected, and plains units), 5 volcanic units (older cone, younger cone, older flow, younger flow, and block field units), and 5 basement units (grey-toned mottled, red-toned platy, red-toned layered, light-toned slabby, and light-toned layered units). Comparison of our remote-based map units with published field-based map units indicates that the two techniques yield pervasively similar results of contrasting detail, with higher accuracies linked to remote-based units that have high topographic relief and tonal contrast relative to adjacent units. We list key scientific questions that remained after photogeologic mapping and prior to DRATS activities and identify 13 specific observations that the crew and science team would need to make in order to address those questions and refine the interpreted geologic context. We translated potential observations into 62 recommended sites for visitation and observation during the mission traverse. The production and use of a mission-specific photogeologic map for DRATS 2010 activities resulted in strategic and tactical recommendations regarding observational context and hypothesis tracking over the course of an exploratory mission.

Acta Astronautica↗
USGS2001

Geologic map of the Lakeview 7.5' quadrangle, Riverside County, California

This Open-File Report contains a digital geologic map and map database of the Lakeview 7.5' quadrangle, Riverside County, California, that includes: 1. ARC/INFO (Environmental Systems Research Institute) version 7.2.1 double-precision coverages of the various elements of the geologic map 2. A Postscript file to plot the geologic map on a topographic base, and containing a Correlation of Map Units diagram and a Description of Map Units 3. Portable Document Format (.pdf) files of: a. This Readme; includes, in Appendix I, data contained in lkvw_met.txt b. The same graphic as plotted in 2 above. (Test plots from this .pdf do not produce 1:24,000-scale maps. Adobe Acrobat page size settings control map scale.) This release includes features not found in most other digital geologic maps, in that all polygons, lines, and points in the coverage are encoded with detailed, comprehensive, contained in five INFO data tables (.rel) (see Matti and others, 1998a, 1998b, and 1998c for information on how the encoding may be accessed and utilized). No paper map is included in this report, but a PostScript plot file containing an image of the geologic map sheet, topographic base, Correlation of Map Units (CMU), and detailed Description of Map Units (DMU) is. Within the geologic map data package, map units are identified by standard geologic map criteria such as formation name, age, and lithology. Even though this is an author-prepared report, every attempt has been made to closely adhere to the stratigraphic nomenclature of the U. S. Geological Survey. Descriptions of units can be obtained by viewing or plotting the .pdf file (3b above) or plotting the postscript file (2 above). If roads in some areas, especially roads that parallel topographic contours, do not show well on plots of the geologic map, we recommend use of the USGS Lakeview 7.5' topographic quadrangle in conjunction with the geologic map.

California↗
USGS1983

Magnetic models of crystalline terrane; accounting for the effect of topography

Igneous rocks commonly have large magnetic susceptibilities so that high topographic relief in crystalline terrane can produce significant anomalies in aeromagnetic surveys. Topographic anomalies are particularly significant in relatively undeformed volcanic terrane because young volcanic rocks generally have large natural remanent magnetizations as well as large susceptibilities. These anomalies commonly appear in aeromagnetic surveys as a complex pattern of high-amplitude, short-wavelength magnetic features that tend to obscure anomalies caused by deeper geologic sources. We have facilitated geologic interpretation of an aeromagnetic survey of the Oregon Cascade Range by calculating the magnetic field caused by a three-dimensional (3-D) topographic model. Maps of the calculated field are compared with observed aeromagnetic data both visually and with a numerical technique that produces a contour map of correlation coefficients for the model. These comparisons allow quick recognition of anomalies caused by normally or reversely magnetized topographic features and, more importantly, identification of anomalies caused by geologic features not obviously caused by the topography.

Oergon↗
USGS1982

Map projections used by the U.S. Geological Survey

After decades of using only one map projection, the Polyconic, for its mapping program, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) now uses sixteen of the more comnon map projections for its published maps. For larger scale maps, including topographic quadrangles and the State Base Map Series, conformal projections such as the Transverse Mercator and the Lambert Conformal Conic are used. On these, the shapes of small areas are shown correctly, but scale is correct only along one or two lines. Equal-area projections, especially the Albers Equal-Area Conic, and equidistant projections which have correct scale along many lines appear in the National Atlas. Other projections, such as the Miller Cylindrical and the Van der Grinten, are chosen occasionally for convenience, sometimes making use of existing base maps prepared by others. Some projections treat the Earth only as a sphere, others as either ellipsoid or sphere. The USGS has also conceived and designed several new projections, icluding the Space Oblique Mercator, the first map projection designed to permit mapping of the Earth continuously from a satellite with low distortion. The mapping of extraterrestrial bodies has resulted in the use of standard projections in completely new settings. With increased computerization, it is important to realize that rectangular coordinates for all these projections may be mathematically calculated with formulas which would have seemed too complicated in the past, but which now may be programed routinely, if clearly delineated with numerical examples. A discussion of appearance, usage, and history is given together with both forward and inverse equations for each projection involved.

Bulletin↗
USGS2009

Geologic Map of the Carlton Quadrangle, Yamhill County, Oregon

The Carlton, Oregon, 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in northwestern Oregon, about 35 miles (57 km) southwest of Portland. It encompasses the towns of Yamhill and Carlton in the northwestern Willamette Valley and extends into the eastern flank of the Oregon Coast Range. The Carlton quadrangle is one of several dozen quadrangles being mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) to provide a framework for earthquake- hazard assessments in the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. The focus of USGS mapping is on the structural setting of the northern Willamette Valley and its relation to the Coast Range uplift. Mapping was done in collaboration with soil scientists from the National Resource Conservation Service, and the distribution of geologic units is refined over earlier regional mapping (Schlicker and Deacon, 1967). Geologic mapping was done on 7.5-minute topographic base maps and digitized in ArcGIS to produce ArcGIS geodatabases and PDFs of the map and text. The geologic contacts are based on numerous observations and samples collected in 2002 and 2003, National Resource Conservation Service soils maps, and interpretations of 7.5-minute topography. The map was completed before new, high-resolution laser terrain mapping was flown for parts of the northern Willamette Valley in 2008.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2019

Deep convolutional neural networks for map-type classification

Maps are an important medium that enable people to comprehensively understand the configuration of cultural activities and natural elements over different times and places. Although a massive number of maps are available in the digital era, how to effectively and accurately locate and access the desired map on the Internet remains a challenge today. Previous works partially related to map-type classification mainly focused on map comparison and map matching at the local scale. The features derived from local map areas might be insufficient to characterize map content. To facilitate establishing an automatic approach for accessing the needed map, this paper reports our investigation into using deep learning techniques to recognize seven types of map, including topographic, terrain, physical, urban scene, the National Map, 3D, nighttime, orthophoto, and land cover classification. Experimental results show that the state-of-the-art deep convolutional neural networks can support automatic map-type classification. Additionally, the classification accuracy varies according to different map-types. This work can contribute to the implementation of deep learning techniques in the cartographic community and advance the progress of Geographical Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI).

Conference Paper↗
USGS1979

Surficial geology of Pulaski quadrangle, Oswego County, New York

The location and extent of 14 kinds of surficial deposits in Pulaski quadrangle, Oswego County, N.Y., are mapped on a 7.5 minute U.S. Geological Survey topographic quadrangle map. The map was prepared to indicate the lithology and potential for ground-water development at any specific location.

New York↗