Digital Spatial Data

Soil and Geology Data

SSURGO (Soil Survey Geographic Database) (web)

http://www.ncgc.nrcs.usda.gov/branch/ssb/products/ssurgo/

SSURGO is a soil database created by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The soil maps were made using field methods and this database provides an extremely detailed level of information and was created primarily for farm, landowner, township, or county natural resource planning and management.  the soil maps were made at a number of different scales that range from 1:12,000 to 1:63,360.  Along with the availability of ArcInfo Coverage and Digital Line Graph spatial data, there are 24 different database tables that can be associated or linked together with the spatial files.  These tables cover the following types of data:

• Information on all Codes Used in the Database
• Soil Component Information
• Crop Yield Information
• Information for Plant Cover as Forest Understory for Soil Components
• Highly Erodible Land Classification for Wind and Water assigned to the Soil Map Units
• Data related to the Hydric Classification, Criteria, and Landform
• The name of Soils Included in the Soil Map Units
• Soil Interpretation Ratings (both limitation and suitability) for Soil Components
• Characteristics of Soil Layers for Soil Components
• Information that applies to all Components of a Soil Map Unit
• The Number of Acres for the Map Unit within a County
• Crop Yield Information for the Soil Map Unit
• Plant Symbols and Percent of Plant Composition Associated with soil Components
• The Common and Scientific Names for Plants listed in the Database
• The Range Site Names
• Range Site Productivity Information for Soil Components
• The Acreage for the County within the Boundary of the Soil Survey Area
• Information that will apply to an entire Soil Survey Area
• The Taxonomic classification for Soil Components
• Information on Recommended Windbreak Plants for Soil Components
• Wildlife Habitat Information for Soil Components
• Information on Common Indicator Trees for Soil Components
• Woodland Management Information for Soil Components
• Crop Names and the Units used to Measure Yield

Spatial coverage: US. AGSL currently archives SSURGO for Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties
Temporal coverage: 1998
Scale: Scale Varies (1:12,000 to 1:63,360) 
Format: Coverages, Digital Line Graph 
Coordinate System: UTM, NAD83.
Access Constraints: None.

For additional information on this dataset visit the Soil Survey Geographic Database website.

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STATSGO (State Soil Geographic Database) (web)
http://www.ncgc.nrcs.usda.gov/branch/ssb/products/
statsgo/index.html

STATSGO is a soil database created by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Soil maps for the State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) database are produced by generalizing the detailed soil survey data. The mapping scale for STATSGO is 1:250,000 (with the exception of Alaska, which is 1:1,000,000). The level of mapping is designed to be used for broad planning and management uses covering state, regional, and multi-state areas.  Along with the availability of ArcInfo Coverage and Digital Line Graph spatial data, there are 15 different database tables that can be associated or linked together with the spatial files.  These tables cover the following types of data:

• Information on Codes used in the Database
• Soil Component Information
• Crop Yield Information for Soil Components 
• Information on Plant Cover as Forest Understory for Soil Components 
• Interpretive Ratings (limitation and suitability) for Soil Components 
• Characteristics of Soil Layers
• Information Applying to all Components of a Soil Map Unit
• Plant Symbols and Percent of Plant Composition
• Common and Scientific Names for Plants
• Range Site Productivity Information
• Taxonomic Classification of Soil Components
• Information on Recommended Windbreak Species for Soil Components
• Wildlife Habitat Information for Soil Components
• Common Indicator Trees for Soil Components
• Woodland Management Information on Soil Components
• Crop Names and the Units used to Measure Yield 

Spatial coverage: All 50 US States
Temporal coverage: 1994
Scale: 1:250,000 
Format: Coverages, Digital Line Graph
Coordinate System: UTM, NAD 1927
Access Constraints: None

For additional information on this dataset visit the State Soil Geography Database website.

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 Geology of the Conterminous United States at 1:2,500,000 Scale 

The Geology of the Conterminous United States map, orginaly created by P.B. King and H.M. Beikman in 1974 is recreated in digital format on this CD from USGS.  The map covers the lower 48 states and contains information on the major geologic feature of the country.  This information has been collected by geologists for centuries and lays out areas of major bedrock, stratified rocks that are sources for fuels, and crystalline and volcanic rocks that contain mineral deposits. The map also lays out areas of folding and faulting, as well as tectonic unstability for the data user.

Spatial coverage: United States (lower 48)
Temporal coverage: 1974 - original work, 1994 - CD-ROM
Scale: 1:2,500,000
Format: Coverages, Digital Line Graph, Abicas Mapview Format
Coordinate System: State Plane Coordinate System, WI South, NAD27.
Access Constraints: None

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Generalized Geologic Map of the Conterminous United States at 1:7,500,000 Scale (web) 
http://pubs.usgs.gov/atlas/geologic

This downloadable dataset, by John C. Reed, Jr. & Charles A. Bush, contains boundaries and tags for major geologic units in the conterminous US. In addition to the polygons representing the areal extent of geologic units, it identifies boundaries of metamorphic provinces, major faults, calderas, impact structures, and generalized limits of continental glaciation. The data depict the geology of the bedrock that lies at or near the land surface, but not the distribution of surficial materials such as soils, alluvium, and glacial deposits.>

Spatial coverage: US
Temporal coverage: 1999
Scale: 1:7,500,000 
Format: ArcInfo Export (E00), shapefiles, graphics files
Coordinate System: Geographic, decimal degrees projection, NAD83.
Access Constraints: None

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WI Geology Data

AGSL's DNR digital geology data holdings include bedrock type, bedrock depth, water table depth and generalized soils data layers developed in the late 1980's for a Groundwater Contamination Susceptibility Model (GCSM), but they are derived from small-scale sources (1:250,000 or 1:500,000) with very limited attribution, and would be inappropriate for site specific analysis.

Spatial coverage: Wisconsin plus 10,000m beyond state boundary
Temporal coverage: Late 1980's
Scale: 1:250,000 or 1:500,000 
Format: Coverages, Raster 
Coordinate System: WTM 83/91.
Access Constraints: Available to students, faculty, and staff of the UW-Milwaukee for educational purposes.

Additional information on this dataset is available from the CD-ROM in the AGS library.

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Comments for the AGSL? Send them to agsl@uwm.edu.