The CD-ROM product (Soller and Packard, 1998) contains explanatory text, digital map data in four data formats, and selected images of the map data accessible through a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The CD-ROM can be read by computers running DOS, Macintosh, UNIX and Windows operating systems. The web site contains the explanatory text, images, and map data in two formats. Ten geologic and base cartographic themes, or data layers, are provided on the CDROM in SDTS, ARC/INFO Coverage, ARC/INFO Shape, and ARC/INFO Export v.7.0.4 formats (at the web site, in SDTS and ARC/INFO Shape formats). The map is divided into 23 4-degree-by-6-degree quadrangles. To allow this large map to be digitized, it was first subdivided into 23 quadrangles at 1:1,000,000-scale, and each was processed separately. Because the file size of the entire map area is quite large, the data are provided by 1:1,000,000 scale quadrangle area.
The data files are a digital representation of a 1:1,000,000-scale map of Quaternary deposits (including both glacial and younger, Holocene sediment) compiled for the glaciated area of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains (that is, the area covered by the Laurentide ice sheets). Parts of southern Ontario, areas beneath the Great Lakes, and parts of the submerged eastern seaboard are also included on the map. The paper version of the map is Soller (1993a, b, 1994, and 1998a and b). The map is a regional synthesis and interpretation of available geologic data derived from about 850 sources of information. Map compilation was completed in 1986. The map has three components that together provide the first regional three-dimensional view of these deposits. These components are the surface distribution of Quaternary sediments, the total thickness of Quaternary sediments, and the distribution of significant buried Quaternary units.(Subsurface information is not available for most of the mapped area, and therefore the depiction of buried units is uneven.) Text and references to support the map are provided in paper format by Soller (1992), and in PDF format on the CD-ROM and at the web site. The digital version of the map is supported by a rudimentary base map adapted from existing paper and digital bases.
This map is a regional overview and is intended to supplement the more detailed work on which it is based. Particularly in populated areas, detailed mapping is vital to site-specific planning. In contrast, regional maps such as this serve to place local, detailed mapping in context, to permit the extrapolation of data into unmapped areas, and to depict large-scale regional geologic features and patterns that are beyond the scope of local, detailed mapping. This map is also intended as a regional planning document that can assist in setting priorities for areas in need of more detailed mapping and assessment. It can be used to support regional decisionmaking on societal issues such as susceptibility of ground water in aquifers to contamination from surface-applied chemicals (see Soller and Berg, 1992). The map has also been used to help locate earthquake liquefaction features, by providing the regional framework needed to prioritize areas for detailed study.
References:During map compilation and production, the senior author sought advice from many individuals in different disciplines. These people have contributed to the generation of the map, and we are grateful for their help. We particularly thank Byron D. Stone of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for his suggestions on map concept and project scope, John P. Kempton and Richard C. Berg (Illinois State Geological Survey) for their encouragement to pursue new techniques, Kenneth J. Lanfear, Will R. Stettner, and James R. Estabrook (USGS) for assistance in the technical aspects of map digitization and production, and Carl Koteff (USGS) for his efforts in originating this project. We also thank the many geologists consulted during this map project for their willingness to share information and insight, for their advice on mapping interpretations, and for their comments during map review. Their names are listed below; we apologize if we have inadvertently omitted anyone.
Atlantic offshore--Robert N. Oldale and Sally W. Needell (both USGS), Francis S. Birch (University of New Hampshire), Joseph T. Kelley (University of Maine), Ralph S. Lewis (Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey).
Connecticut--Janet R. Stone, John P. Schafer (both USGS).
Great Lakes--Richard L. Thomas (International Joint Commission, Windsor, Ontario), C.F. Michael Lewis (Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia), Richard J. Wold (EG&G Geometrics, Sunnyvale, Calif.), Peter G. Sly (Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Picton, Ontario), Norm A. Rukavina (Canada Centre Inland Waters, Burlington, Ontario), John P. Coakley (National Water Research Institute, Burlington, Ontario), David L. Gross (Illinois State Geological Survey), S. Jeffress Williams (USGS), Jonathan A. Fuller (Ohio Geological Survey), Allen S. Hunt (University of Vermont).
Illinois--John P. Kempton, Richard C. Berg, Paul B. DuMontelle, Thomas M. Johnson, Leon R. Follmer, Myrna M. Killey, E. Donald McKay, Jerry R. Miller (all Illinois State Geological Survey).
Indiana--Ned K. Bleuer, Gordon S. Fraser (both Indiana Geological Survey).
Iowa--George R. Hallberg, Timothy J. Kemmis, Raymond R. Anderson (all Iowa Geological Survey).
Kansas--Jane E. Denne (Kansas Geological Survey).
Kentucky--Robert C. McDowell (USGS), Martin C. Noger (Kentucky Geological Survey).
Maine--Woodrow B. Thompson, Marc C. Loiselle, E. Melanie Lanctot (all Maine Geological Survey).
Massachusetts--Byron D. Stone (USGS).
Michigan--William R. Farrand (University of Michigan), Richard L. Rieck (Western Illinois University), Robert Reed, Richard P. Bissell, William A. Walden, D. Michael Bricker, Randall L. Milstein, Mick Jones (all Michigan Geological Survey).
Minnesota--Howard C. Hobbs, Bruce M. Olsen, Gary Meyer (all Minnesota Geological Survey).
Mississippi River--Ron Pearson (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island, Ill.), Mike Klosterman (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, Mo.), Terry Jorgenson (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul, Minn.).
Missouri--James H. Williams, John W. Whitfield (both Missouri Division of Geology and Land Survey).
Missouri River--Paul Barndt (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Neb.).
Montana--Robert N. Bergantino (Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology), Roger B. Colton (USGS), Jack Rodgers, Robert Richardson (both U.S. Soil Conservation Service, Bozeman, Mont.), Ronald J. Soiseth (U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Malta, Mont.), John Montain (Montana State University).
Nebraska--Vince H. Dreeszen, James B. Swinehart, Raymond R. Burchett (all Nebraska Conservation and Survey Division), James L. Howerton (Nebraska Department of Roads).
New Hampshire--John E. Cotton (USGS), Robert Davis (former New Hampshire State Geologist).
New Jersey--Byron D. Stone (USGS), David P. Harper, Scott Stanford, Ron Witte (all New Jersey Geological Survey).
New York--Allan D. Randall, Forest Lyford, Andrew Cohen, Richard K. Krulikas, Herbert T. Buxton (all USGS), Ernest H. Muller (Syracuse University), Parker E. Calkin (State University of New York, Buffalo), Donald H. Cadwell, Robert J. Dineen (both New York State Geological Survey).
North Dakota--John P. Bluemle (North Dakota Geological Survey), Lee Clayton (Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey).
Ohio--Dennis N. Hull, Sherry L. Weisgarber, Rene L. Fernandez, Mike Angle, C. Scott Brockman, Richard R. Pavey (all Ohio Division of Geological Survey), John Voytek (Ohio Division of Water), Stanley E. Norris (USGS,retired), Jane L. Forsyth (Bowling Green University), Richard P. Goldthwait (Ohio State University), Stanley M. Totten (Hanover College, Indiana).
Ontario--Edward V. Sado, Peter Barrett, Robert J. Fulton, Robert Geddes (all Ontario Geological Survey).
Pennsylvania--George H. Crowl (Ohio Wesleyan University), Thomas M. Berg, William D. Sevon (both Pennsylvania Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey), Duane D. Braun (Bloomsburg University), John H. Williams, H.J. McCoy, Drew Davis, Jennifer Harden (all USGS).
Rhode Island--Herbert Johnston, John P. Schafer (both USGS), J. Allan Cain (Rhode Island State Geologist).
South Dakota--Jay P. Gilbertson, Cleo M. Christenson, George E. Duchossois, Dennis W. Tomhave, Lynn S. Hedges, Martin J. Jarrett (all South Dakota Geological Survey).
Vermont--Charles A. Ratte (Vermont State Geologist), David Butterfield, James W. Ashley (both Vermont Agency of Environmental Conservation).
Wisconsin--Lee Clayton, John W. Attig (both Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey), David M. Michelson (University of Wisconsin), Howard Lorenz (U.S. Soil Conservation Service, Marinette, Wis.)
Kenneth J. Lanfear, Cynthia M. Crampsey, Leslie W. McElroy, Teresa A. Pitts, Susan D. Price, Will Stettner and Wai-See Moy (all USGS)
Technical Support: Paul G. Schruben and Will Stettner (USGS)
Kristen L. Hayes, Maura J. Hogan, Leslie W. McElroy and John M. Watson (all USGS)
Alex Acosta (USGS)
The map data were developed using a proprietary software, ARC/INFO (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., Redlands, CA). Map data are provided on the CD-ROM in four formats. Three are proprietary (ARCVIEW Shape, ARC/INFO Coverage, and ARC/INFO Export v.7.0.4) and one is not (SDTS). "SDTS" is the Topological Vector Profile (TVP) format of the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (refer to Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) number 173 for description). At the web site, SDTS and ARC/INFO Shape format are available. The map data in Arc/Info Shape and coverage formats are compatible with Environmental Systems Research Institute's ArcExplorer software. A free product for map display and query that operates under Windows 95, 98, or NT, ArcExplorer can be downloaded (7.2MB) from "http://www.esri.com".
Data are organized into directories, one for each format. Within each data format directory, map data are organized by 4-degree-by-6-degree quadrangle (23 of them). At the web site, map data can be downloaded by selecting a quadrangle from an index map. The data are contained in a gzipped tar file, and instructions for uncompressing this file are available at the web site. Each quadrangle directory contains a "README" file, a map index, a "GEOLTABLE" which describes attribute values, and 10 geologic and base cartographic themes.
The map data are documented by metadata that conforms to the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata. This metadata includes information such as map content, map authorship, the intended purpose of the map data, procedures used to develop the digital data, content of related datasets, definitions of the map's attributes, and file format. On the CDROM, metadata are provided in ASCII and PDF format for each of the ten geologic and base cartographic map themes in the "METADATA" directory. At the web site, metadata are provided for viewing in HTML format, and for downloading in ASCII format.
For eight of the ten geologic and base cartographic themes, or data layers, images are provided. These images show the entire map area (see "IMAGES/MAP_AREA" directory) and, in somewhat more detail, a single 4-degree-by-6-degree quadrangle (see "IMAGES/CHICAGO" directory). The images for "CHICAGO" are provided only on the CDROM. At the web site, images of the printed map and detailed areas of the map are available.
For the selected well logs shown on the printed version of this map (USGS Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1970-A to -D), images showing the logs are provided with the map data. Although the images are organized by quadrangle, they are few in number and do not adequately represent the deposits in the quadrangle. Rather, these logs show, for a few selected locations, the subsurface variability in sediment texture and origin that may be expected across the various deposits in the entire map area.
To support the map data, an explanatory text and figures and an extensive reference list are provided in USGS Bulletin 1921, available on this CD-ROM and web site as a PDF file. Also, a low-resolution image of USGS Open-file Report 93-543, which shows the entire map area, is provided on the CDROM as a JPEG file.
This digital map product was prepared by an agency of the U.S. Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Government or any agency thereof. Although all data and software in this product have been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by that agency as to the accuracy of the data and related materials and/(or) the functioning of the software. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data, software, or related materials.
This map is a regional overview and is intended to supplement the more detailed work on which it is based. Particularly in populated areas, detailed mapping is vital to site-specific planning. In contrast, regional maps such as this serve to place local, detailed mapping in context, to permit the extrapolation of data into unmapped areas, and to depict large-scale regional geologic features and patterns that are beyond the scope of local, detailed mapping. This map is also intended as a regional planning document that can assist in setting priorities for areas in need of more detailed mapping and assessment. It can be used to support regional decisionmaking on societal issues such as susceptibility of ground water in aquifers to contamination from surface-applied chemicals. The map has also been used to help locate earthquake liquefaction features, by providing the regional framework needed to prioritize areas for search.
Graphical map depictions in this product are intended to be used at map compilation scale (1:1.000,000). Although software enables the user to show daimages at any scale, the user is cautioned that enlarging the maps beyond a scale of 1:1,000,000 for analytical purposes is not warranted.