Some of the British Geological Survey’s (BGS) most widely used maps have undergone a major update, including the 1:50,000-scale map series, which now features enhanced coverage of Great Britain.
The BGS’s digital geological maps (BGS Geology) covering Great Britain are based on a suite of published paper maps enhanced with the latest digital mapping. It is periodically updated with information from field surveys, as well as including previously unpublished maps or additional interpretation.
The latest version of BGS Geology 50K now covers the majority of Great Britain plus the Isle of Man, an estimated 236,000km2. This includes coverage for approximately 99 per cent of the bedrock and approximately 95 per cent of the superficial deposits nationwide.
These geological maps provide crucial information, including rock types and faults, forming a valuable resource for a wide range of applications, such as infrastructure planning and development, the use of ground-source heat pumps, and environmental assessment.
Henry Holbrook, data sharing lead at BGS, said: “The 50K-scale map offers a balance between detail and coverage, making it highly useful for a wide range of applications, from regional assessment to local-scale intelligence.
“The latest update incorporates all edits to the dataset since the previous version’s release in 2017. This includes new and revised tiles of geology data, updates to the coastline and various corrections to geological features across the country. Also included is additional attribution on linear features depicting fault trace handedness and hanging-wall orientation on fault features.”
In addition to the 50K maps, BGS has also updated its 10K and 25K maps. The BGS Geology 10K and 25K datasets are the most detailed geological datasets BGS has produced.
Around half of the country is now covered with this update, including many urban centres and transport routes in Great Britain.
Henry continued: “This latest release of BGS Geology 10K and 25K includes new maps and is based on our highest-resolution survey mapping. It will continue to be of great help to the public sector, the construction industry and academics.”
BGS’s data for both BGS Geology 50K and BGS Geology 10K and 25K is available under licence. You can view the BGS Geology 50K in both the GeoIndex and the BGS Geology Viewer. The BGS website provides more information about the BGS Geology 50K and BGS Geology 10K.
