Maps  /  ,

Geologic map of the United States’ surface

Dec 5, 2025

The United States Geological Survey published composite maps and data for the country’s geological makeup.

The Earth’s Surface geology layer depicts geologic units exposed at the Earth’s surface in the conterminous United States, ranging in age from Quaternary glacial deposits and alluvium to Precambrian crystalline bedrock. In the U.S. West and Southeast, the map is a composite of 29 state geologic maps depicting geology at the Earth’s surface. In the glaciated region of the Midwest and Northeast, the map is a composite of 21 state geologic maps depicting pre-Quaternary rocks (“bedrock”), 8 state geologic maps depicting Quaternary deposits, and 18 USGS Quaternary Atlas Series maps depicting Quaternary deposits. The Quaternary Atlas maps were used where modern state geologic maps were not available.

You can download the data and other map layers through USGS. As per the title, the above only shows the surface. They have data that stretches back billions of years ago.

[via Beautiful Public Data]

Become a member. Support an independent site. Get extra visualization goodness.

See What You Get

Favorites

How Much Americans Make

Median income only tells you where the middle is. The distributions of income are a lot more interesting.

Finding the New Age, for Your Age

You’ve probably heard the lines about how “40 is the new 30” or “30 is the new 20.” What is this based on? I tried to solve the problem using life expectancy data. Your age is the new age.

10 Best Data Visualization Projects of 2017

It was a rough year, which brought about a lot of good work. Here are my favorite data visualization projects of the year.

Who We Spend Time with as We Get Older

In high school, we spend most of our days with friends and immediate family. But then we get jobs, start a family, retire, and there’s a shift in who we spend our days with.