US: As part of an effort to map the glacial geology for the entire state, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological Survey has released a series of detailed maps that identify and describe the nature and thicknesses of Ohio’s glacial deposits. Materials shown on the maps include sand and gravel, fine-grained sediments, clay, organic materials and bedrock.
“These maps are a vast improvement over our previously released Quaternary Geology of Ohio map, which only shows about the top four to five feet of materials,” said Mike Angle, supervisor of the division’s Geologic Mapping and Industrial Minerals Group. “The new maps summarise the state’s glacial geology for tens and even hundreds of feet, from the land surface to the top of bedrock.”
While the glacial mapping series does not represent the entire state — only about 60 percent of the state was glaciated — the mapping to date accounts for nearly 80 percent of Ohio’s glaciated areas. Exceptions include north-western Ohio and river valleys in the east and south-eastern portions of the state.
The division’s glacial mapping efforts are funded by grants from the U.S. Geological Survey STATEMAP programme, a component of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Programme and by taxes paid by Ohio’s mineral industries. The glacial geology maps are available for free download at www.ohiodnr.com/geosurvey.
Source: The News-Messenger.com
