Geologic mapping projects funded

The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) has  awarded the AZGS $170,940 to support geologic mapping near Oatman in Mohave County, Quartzsite in La Paz County, and northwest of Safford in Graham County.

Geologic mapping is one of the primary functions of the AZGS.  For the past 23 years, we have been aggressive participants in the USGS-run National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, successfully competing in the StateMap program component that matches state funds.

Since 1992, the AZGS has been awarded $3,943,335 in StateMap funds; because these funds are matched dollar for dollar by State funds, nearly $8 million has been invested in geologic mapping in Arizona over the past 23 years. The result: more than 161 geologic map products (nine of which are still pending publication), most at the 1:24,000 map scale, comprising about 8000 square miles (see the accompanying figure).

Senior geologist Dr. Jon Spencer, chief of the Mapping Section, and Dr. Phil Pearthree, chief of the Environmental Geology Section, jointly oversee a staff of five geologists that engage in mapping part to full time. Mapping priorities are set by the AZGS's Geologic Mapping Advisory Committee made up of representatives of state and federal agencies, universities, and the private sector.

Geologic map products are released in the fall of each year at the online Arizona Document Repository as free, PDF downloads.

For more information on geologic mapping in Arizona, see “Index of geologic maps available from the Arizona Geological Survey v 1.1” (2015).