Inventory of landslides in the northwestern, northeastern, southern, and southeastern parts of Minnesota

This dataset contains an inventory of landslides in many of the most landslide-prone parts of Minnesota. This project was created to improve our understanding of the landslide hazard in Minnesota and to provide a nearly statewide base map of landslide data. The mapping was performed by geologists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Freshwater Society, and several academic institutions where undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty performed mapping. Contributing academic institution include the University of Minnesota Duluth, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Gustavus Adolphus College, Winona State University, Minnesota State University, Mankato, St. Thomas University, and North Dakota State University. These landslides were identified using several methods. These include analysis of historical records, direct field observation, location using satellite or aerial imagery, and identification in topographic data products derived from the statewide lidar data coverage. Most of the mapped landslides were identified using lidar derivatives and have not been evaluated in the field by geologists or engineers. These data should be considered a preliminary survey and are not intended to represent a complete and accurate inventory of landslides for these areas. There may be a range in the accuracy, detail, and completeness with which landslides are mapped, and in the information associated with a given landslide; however, all mapped landslides were reviewed by USGS personnel and the senior project members. Mapping procedures including the assignment of numerical values for confidence follow guidelines found in DOGAMI Special Paper 42: https://www.oregongeology.org/pubs/sp/p-SP-42.htm. Site-specific investigations should be completed before using these data for land development or management decisions. This Data Release consists of: 1) Minnesota_Landslides_v1_1.gdb.zip which contains the landslide inventory mapping data and the areas that were mapped, to be used in a GIS, 2) Minnesota_Landslides_v1_3.sd which is an ESRI service layer definition file that enables use of the data in online and offline GIS, 3) MN_Landslide_Photos.zip that contains a collection of geotagged photos showing landslides; these can be imported into a GIS, and 4) metadata.xml which contains metadata for all included files. Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.