I’m a huge fan of geologic maps and so I was pretty stoked to poke around in the newly updated National Geologic map database from the USGS. This awesome WMS enables you to quickly pan around the US in search of amazing geologic maps for quick preview or download. The MapView component (http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/maps/MapView/) of the project is particularly impressive. Simply zoom to an area of interest, notice the map grid that appears, click on any grid cell, then explore and download a geologic map in a number of formats (GeoTIFF, PDF, JPG) . Coincidentally, Joseph Kerski of Esri (was with USGS) has also just blogged about the resource. Joseph commented, “the NGMDB, through its Geoscience Map Catalog, provides access to more than 89,000 maps and reports by more 630 publishers. More than 23,000 of these publications are geologic maps.”
This from the USGS… This is the first stage in a complete redesign of the NGMDB. All other aspects of the site will be addressed in the months ahead. While the redesign will mark a significant milestone for the geologic map database, the project’s main focus will continue undeterred – that is, to make the NGMDB even more comprehensive and useful to the public. See more details, National Geologic Map Database Gets a Face Lift
