Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey

Publications and Digital Data Easier to Explore

If you are a frequent visitor to this website, you may have noticed a change to the left navigation menu. What used to be two separate sections (“Digital Maps, Data, and GIS” and “Publications”) are now one (Publications and Digital Data). From this new link, visitors can quickly and directly access all material relevant to Pennsylvania Geological Survey publications, search digital data the Survey has compiled, and find digital mapping resources.

As an added bonus, the Survey has completed scanning almost all of its printed fourth series publications and has made them available as free text-searchable Acrobat files. Reports can be downloaded through Publications by Series, one of the “Publications and Digital Data” page connections. The formal reports that are not already out of print may also be purchased from ShopPAHeritage.com, but only until April 30, 2013. After that day, sales will cease with the exception of Special Publication 1, The Geology of Pennsylvania. This massive and popular book was not scanned and, as such, will continue to be sold through the ShopPAHeritage website.

The new publication and data layout is just the beginning of our website improvements. In the coming weeks, we will deploy a web-mapping application that will be the portal through which one can access our geologic information. The first component of the application will be a geographical interface for identifying and retrieving publications. Thereafter, nearly continuous additions will include surficial geology, recent geologic mapping, connections to our various databases, and quick access to a number of thematic maps such as coal or karst geology. The application will give the user the ability to easily customize and download maps and their associated datasets.

There is a wealth of information available on this website. We encourage you to explore the new pages and remember to check back soon for the web-mapping application.