Surficial geologic map of the Heath-Northfield-Southwick-Hampden 24-quadrangle area in the Connecticut Valley region, west-central Massachusetts
Open-File Report
2006-1260-G
Prepared in cooperation with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the State Geologist and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
By: Janet Radway Stone and Mary L. DiGiacomo-Cohen
Links
- More information: USGS Index Page (html)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
The surficial geologic map layer shows the distribution of nonlithified earth materials at land surface in an area of 24 7.5-minute quadrangles (1,238 mi2 total) in west-central Massachusetts. Across Massachusetts, these materials range from a few feet to more than 500 ft in thickness. They overlie bedrock, which crops out in upland hills and as resistant ledges in valley areas. The geologic map differentiates surficial materials of Quaternary age on the basis of their lithologic characteristics (such as grain size and sedimentary structures), constructional geomorphic features, stratigraphic relationships, and age. Surficial materials also are known in engineering classifications as unconsolidated soils, which include coarse-grained soils, fine-grained soils, and organic fine-grained soils. Surficial materials underlie and are the parent materials of modern pedogenic soils, which have developed in them at the land surface. Surficial earth materials significantly affect human use of the land, and an accurate description of their distribution is particularly important for assessing water resources, construction aggregate resources, and earth-surface hazards, and for making land-use decisions. This work is part of a comprehensive study to produce a statewide digital map of the surficial geology at a 1:24,000-scale level of accuracy. This report includes explanatory text, quadrangle maps at 1:24,000 scale (PDF files), GIS data layers (ArcGIS shapefiles), metadata for the GIS layers, scanned topographic base maps (TIF), and a readme.txt file.
Suggested Citation
Stone, J.R., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M.L., 2010, Surficial geologic map of the Heath-Northfield-Southwick-Hampden 24-quadrangle area in the Connecticut Valley region, west-central Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1260, Text: iv, 14 p.; Appenix; Links to: Explanatory text; quadrangle maps; GIS data layers; metadata; scanned topographic base maps; readme.txt , https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20061260G.
ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Surficial geologic map of the Heath-Northfield-Southwick-Hampden 24-quadrangle area in the Connecticut Valley region, west-central Massachusetts |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 2006-1260 |
| Chapter | G |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr20061260G |
| Year Published | 2010 |
| Language | ENGLISH |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Description | Text: iv, 14 p.; Appenix; Links to: Explanatory text; quadrangle maps; GIS data layers; metadata; scanned topographic base maps; readme.txt |
| Scale | 24000 |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | Y |