Surficial Geology of North Dakota GIS Data
Author: Bradley Miller
This raster dataset presents a detailed map of surface geologic (parent) materials across North Dakota. It was developed from maps originally delineated at 1:24,000 to 1:12,000 scale and compiled by USDA-NRCS into the gSSURGO spatial database at 10-meter resolution. The dataset was interpreted by Iowa State University’s Geospatial Laboratory for Soil Informatics (GLSI) to represent parent materials to a depth of 2 meters.
Interpretation Method
Parent material types were extracted from NRCS Official Soil Series Descriptions (OSD). In areas with limited or ambiguous data, GLSI performed additional interpretation using soil profile characteristics and spatial associations with better-defined soil series. The final classification includes geologic materials such as glacial till, outwash, loess, alluvium, residuum, and bedrock.
Applications and Visualization Tips
This map is valuable for understanding soil development, geomorphic history, and hydrologic behavior. It is especially informative when combined with high-resolution hillshade or elevation data, which accentuate the relationship between surficial geology and topography.
Resolution and Coverage
10-meter raster resolution covering the entire state of North Dakota.
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GIS Map Details
This raster is a highly detailed map of geologic materials at the surface (delineations made from maps at 1:24,000 to 1:12,000 scale). The smaller extent maps were merged together by USDA-NRCS to produce the gSSURGO spatial database, covering the entire state at a 10m resolution. The gSSURGO map was then interpreted by Iowa State University’s Geospatial Laboratory for Soil Informatics (GLSI) for parent material, which is equivalent to the geologic material to a depth of 2 meters from the surface. Surficial material attributes were extracted from the NRCS official soil series descriptions (OSD), but at times some additional interpretation was needed based on typical soil profile properties and spatial relationships with better-defined soil series. Because of the common relationship between surficial geology and topography, digital elevation models would be complementary to this data set. Draping this surfical geology data set over hillshades derived from fine resolution elevation data works especially well.
References
Miller, B.A. and C.L. Burras. 2015. Comparison of surficial geology maps based on soil survey and in depth geological survey. Soil Horizons 56(1). doi:10.2136/sh14-05-0005.
Soil Survey Staff. 2014. Official Soil Series Descriptions (OSD). United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/osdname.asp
Soil Survey Staff. 2014. Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO). United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov