Miscellaneous Investigations Series Maps (I Series)
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Summary

Maps (mostly multicolored) on planimetric or topographic bases showing regular and irregular areas; various scales. This series portrays a wide variety of format and subject matter including bedrock, surficial, and marine geology, engineering geology, mineral and energy resources, and geophysics. The series also includes maps of the Earth's Moon and other planetary bodies.

Extent of Program

National, planetary.

Available Product Coverage

Random. Maps available are cataloguied in the following sources:

  • "Publications of the Geologica Survey, 1879-1961","Publications of the Geological Survey, 1962-1970","Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1971 through 1981", and annual supplements for 1982 and later years. New maps are listed in the monthly catalog, "New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey".

  • GEOINDEX, a computerized data base produced by the United States Geological Survey which contains bibliographic information for published geologic maps.

  • USGS Geologic Map Indexes (GMIs) for the 50 States and several territories.

These sources are available at Earth Science Information Center offices, in USGS libraries, and may be available at other earth science libraries, such as those of universities.

Information Content

Maps in the I Series are similar in scientific quality and cartographic standards to maps in the GQ Series, but the I Series accommodates a greater range of map types than the GQ Series for several reasons:

  1. The I-Series map need not cover only a single 7 1/2- or 15-minute quadrangel. The area covered may be greater or less than a whole quadrangle, or may be a mosaic of several quadrangles, at any scale. Many I-Series maps are published at a scale of 1:100,000 or 1:250,000 using standard 30- by 60-minute or 1- by 2-degree topographic base maps, respectively.

  2. The publication scale may differ from that of the published topographic base, or the base used may incorporate obsolete or outdated topographic quadrangles if the geologic map has been prepared to fit it.

  3. The map need not conform to all the standards set for general-purpose geologic maps. Thus, many I-Series maps are special-purpose maps showing selected types of features or information such as faults, landslides, or mineral resource potential.

Consequently, the I Series includes both black-and-white and multicolored products and such diverse topical material as bedrock and surficial geology, bathymetry, vegetation, landforms, hydrogeology, land classification, map projections, quality of water, and maps of the Moon, planets, and other satellites. Many I-Series maps are general-purpose geologic maps similar in content to Geological Quadrangle (GQ)-Series maps but cover areas other than a 7 1/2- or 15-minute quadrangle and / or are printed on a topograhic base map that has been either reduced or enlarged from the published scale. Many I-Series maps published before 1961 are photogeologic maps that were compiled from aerial photographs with little or no field checking.

I-Series maps are accompanied by a description of map units that describes the distinctive characteristcs and principal variations in the map units, and, in many cases, by a supplemental text.

Product Delivery Format

Paper
Keywords: Geology, geophysics, gravity, magnetics, marine, minerals, seismic, subsurface, bedrock geology, marine geology, surficial geology

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