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The Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West (IMW) Project conducts 1:24,000- to 1:100,000-scale geologic mapping to support framework geologic investigations. The IMW project is prioritizing development of a seamless, integrated geologic map database in targeted areas of the Intermountain West region of the United States that host substantial mineral, energy, water, and industrial material resources critical for economic development, energy independence, and national security. The database synthesizes new and existing geologic map data into a spatially consistent geologic framework, serving the compiled geologic map data at scales ranging from 1:100,000 to 1:50,000. This innovative geologic map database improves queryability of map unit information that benefits private, indigenous, and public lands stakeholders by supporting informed decisions addressing resource assessments, exploration and extraction, and is foundational data to geoscience research. The database utilizes modern data delivery through web-hosted feature service layers that support advanced GIS data users. Geologic map data is more accessible to the public using the Intermountain West Geologic Map Explorer.
The stratigraphic framework that underpins the geologic map database is constructed dynamically using a process-based, time-dependent, hierarchical classification of geologic map units. Development of this framework requires thorough understanding of the complicated geologic history of the Intermountain West region, much of which remains inconsistently mapped, and accordingly, poorly understood. To fill critical knowledge gaps, topically focused research groups within the IMW Project investigate the various tectonic, magmatic, stratigraphic, and geomorphic processes that have shaped the Intermountain West region and created resources critical to the nation’s security and economic future. This stratigraphic framework and data structure is designed to simplify use of the map data in complex resource and hazard management applications.
Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West Project Working Groups
Research Geologist Adam Hudson installs a soil temperature and moisture monitoring station for a topographic asymmetry study in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Adam Hudson installs a soil temperature and moisture monitoring station for a topographic asymmetry study in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Jens-Erik Lundstern poses as a scale for middle Cenozoic fluvial conglomerates in the Delamar Mountains (southern Nevada, USA).
Research Geologist Jens-Erik Lundstern poses as a scale for middle Cenozoic fluvial conglomerates in the Delamar Mountains (southern Nevada, USA).
Intermountain West Project members Adam Hudson and Michael Frothingham inspect young aeolian deposits of the San Juan River corridor (Bluff, Utah, USA).
Intermountain West Project members Adam Hudson and Michael Frothingham inspect young aeolian deposits of the San Juan River corridor (Bluff, Utah, USA).
Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) grow on middle Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Las Vegas region (southern Nevada, USA).
Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) grow on middle Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Las Vegas region (southern Nevada, USA).
Photomigrograph (cross-polarized light) showing branching bunches of calcite filaments grown from algal mats in spring-discharge tufas of Cold Creek Spring (Las Vegas region, Nevada, USA).
Photomigrograph (cross-polarized light) showing branching bunches of calcite filaments grown from algal mats in spring-discharge tufas of Cold Creek Spring (Las Vegas region, Nevada, USA).
Strongly deformed Paleoproterozoic granitic intrusions in biotite schist (Spaghetti Canyon, Lower Granite Gorge, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA).
Strongly deformed Paleoproterozoic granitic intrusions in biotite schist (Spaghetti Canyon, Lower Granite Gorge, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA).
The Colorado River, brown from heightened suspended load following rains, flows through Paleoproteroic basement and overlying Cambrian Tapeats Sandstone in the Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA).
The Colorado River, brown from heightened suspended load following rains, flows through Paleoproteroic basement and overlying Cambrian Tapeats Sandstone in the Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA).
The moon sets over an exposure of the Great Unconformity within the Colorado National Monument (Colorado, USA). At this location, Paleoproterozoic granite (foreground) is unconformably overlain by the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation.
The moon sets over an exposure of the Great Unconformity within the Colorado National Monument (Colorado, USA). At this location, Paleoproterozoic granite (foreground) is unconformably overlain by the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation.
View to the west across Death Valley (California, USA) to the Panamint Mountains. Alluvial fans (foreground) and the salt lake playa of the Badwater basin (middle ground) occupy the basin floor.
View to the west across Death Valley (California, USA) to the Panamint Mountains. Alluvial fans (foreground) and the salt lake playa of the Badwater basin (middle ground) occupy the basin floor.
Research Geologist Marieke Dechesne describes fluvial deposits of the Paleocene Raton Formation (Raton Basin, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Marieke Dechesne describes fluvial deposits of the Paleocene Raton Formation (Raton Basin, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Marieke Dechesne investigates heavy mineral-bearing shoreface deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Trinidad Sandstone (Raton Basin, New Mexico, USA).
Research Geologist Marieke Dechesne investigates heavy mineral-bearing shoreface deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Trinidad Sandstone (Raton Basin, New Mexico, USA).
Research Geologist A. Kate Souders investigates complexly deformed, middle Cenozoic volcaniclastic rocks of the Death Valley region (California, USA).
Research Geologist A. Kate Souders investigates complexly deformed, middle Cenozoic volcaniclastic rocks of the Death Valley region (California, USA).
Research Geologist A. Kate Souders samples fluvial sandstones of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation (eastern Nevada, USA).
Research Geologist A. Kate Souders samples fluvial sandstones of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation (eastern Nevada, USA).
Research Geologist Amy Gilmer walks over carbonate rocks of the Upper Triassic Star Peak Group (northern Humboldt Range, Nevada, USA).
Research Geologist Amy Gilmer walks over carbonate rocks of the Upper Triassic Star Peak Group (northern Humboldt Range, Nevada, USA).
In an effort to better understand the effects of abandoned mine lands on natural resources, Research Geologists Margaret Berry and Adam Hudson collect samples of ancestral Animas River sediment for geochemical analysis (Durango, Colorado, USA).
In an effort to better understand the effects of abandoned mine lands on natural resources, Research Geologists Margaret Berry and Adam Hudson collect samples of ancestral Animas River sediment for geochemical analysis (Durango, Colorado, USA).
Wild burros stand guard on the path to Miocene volcaniclastic rocks of the Death Valley region (California, USA).
Wild burros stand guard on the path to Miocene volcaniclastic rocks of the Death Valley region (California, USA).
Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West project members Adam Hudson, Margaret Berry, Harrison Gray, Cal Ruleman, and Samuel Johnstone perform field work for a topographic asymmetry study in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West project members Adam Hudson, Margaret Berry, Harrison Gray, Cal Ruleman, and Samuel Johnstone perform field work for a topographic asymmetry study in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Jens-Erik Lundstern explores multi-colored lacustrine shales of the Oligocene Amargosa Valley Formation (Bat Mountain, California, USA).
Research Geologist Jens-Erik Lundstern explores multi-colored lacustrine shales of the Oligocene Amargosa Valley Formation (Bat Mountain, California, USA).
Research Geologist Theresa Schwartz takes field notes about the Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of Bat Mountain (Death Valley region, California, USA).
Research Geologist Theresa Schwartz takes field notes about the Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of Bat Mountain (Death Valley region, California, USA).
Research Geologist Theresa Schwartz walks over Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in Death Valley National Park (California, USA).
Research Geologist Theresa Schwartz walks over Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in Death Valley National Park (California, USA).
The flat-lying rhyolite of Cropsy Mountain overlies the hydrothermally altered Summitville Andesite (San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA).
The flat-lying rhyolite of Cropsy Mountain overlies the hydrothermally altered Summitville Andesite (San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West Project Working Groups
Research Geologist Adam Hudson installs a soil temperature and moisture monitoring station for a topographic asymmetry study in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Adam Hudson installs a soil temperature and moisture monitoring station for a topographic asymmetry study in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Jens-Erik Lundstern poses as a scale for middle Cenozoic fluvial conglomerates in the Delamar Mountains (southern Nevada, USA).
Research Geologist Jens-Erik Lundstern poses as a scale for middle Cenozoic fluvial conglomerates in the Delamar Mountains (southern Nevada, USA).
Intermountain West Project members Adam Hudson and Michael Frothingham inspect young aeolian deposits of the San Juan River corridor (Bluff, Utah, USA).
Intermountain West Project members Adam Hudson and Michael Frothingham inspect young aeolian deposits of the San Juan River corridor (Bluff, Utah, USA).
Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) grow on middle Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Las Vegas region (southern Nevada, USA).
Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) grow on middle Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Las Vegas region (southern Nevada, USA).
Photomigrograph (cross-polarized light) showing branching bunches of calcite filaments grown from algal mats in spring-discharge tufas of Cold Creek Spring (Las Vegas region, Nevada, USA).
Photomigrograph (cross-polarized light) showing branching bunches of calcite filaments grown from algal mats in spring-discharge tufas of Cold Creek Spring (Las Vegas region, Nevada, USA).
Strongly deformed Paleoproterozoic granitic intrusions in biotite schist (Spaghetti Canyon, Lower Granite Gorge, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA).
Strongly deformed Paleoproterozoic granitic intrusions in biotite schist (Spaghetti Canyon, Lower Granite Gorge, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA).
The Colorado River, brown from heightened suspended load following rains, flows through Paleoproteroic basement and overlying Cambrian Tapeats Sandstone in the Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA).
The Colorado River, brown from heightened suspended load following rains, flows through Paleoproteroic basement and overlying Cambrian Tapeats Sandstone in the Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA).
The moon sets over an exposure of the Great Unconformity within the Colorado National Monument (Colorado, USA). At this location, Paleoproterozoic granite (foreground) is unconformably overlain by the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation.
The moon sets over an exposure of the Great Unconformity within the Colorado National Monument (Colorado, USA). At this location, Paleoproterozoic granite (foreground) is unconformably overlain by the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation.
View to the west across Death Valley (California, USA) to the Panamint Mountains. Alluvial fans (foreground) and the salt lake playa of the Badwater basin (middle ground) occupy the basin floor.
View to the west across Death Valley (California, USA) to the Panamint Mountains. Alluvial fans (foreground) and the salt lake playa of the Badwater basin (middle ground) occupy the basin floor.
Research Geologist Marieke Dechesne describes fluvial deposits of the Paleocene Raton Formation (Raton Basin, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Marieke Dechesne describes fluvial deposits of the Paleocene Raton Formation (Raton Basin, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Marieke Dechesne investigates heavy mineral-bearing shoreface deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Trinidad Sandstone (Raton Basin, New Mexico, USA).
Research Geologist Marieke Dechesne investigates heavy mineral-bearing shoreface deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Trinidad Sandstone (Raton Basin, New Mexico, USA).
Research Geologist A. Kate Souders investigates complexly deformed, middle Cenozoic volcaniclastic rocks of the Death Valley region (California, USA).
Research Geologist A. Kate Souders investigates complexly deformed, middle Cenozoic volcaniclastic rocks of the Death Valley region (California, USA).
Research Geologist A. Kate Souders samples fluvial sandstones of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation (eastern Nevada, USA).
Research Geologist A. Kate Souders samples fluvial sandstones of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation (eastern Nevada, USA).
Research Geologist Amy Gilmer walks over carbonate rocks of the Upper Triassic Star Peak Group (northern Humboldt Range, Nevada, USA).
Research Geologist Amy Gilmer walks over carbonate rocks of the Upper Triassic Star Peak Group (northern Humboldt Range, Nevada, USA).
In an effort to better understand the effects of abandoned mine lands on natural resources, Research Geologists Margaret Berry and Adam Hudson collect samples of ancestral Animas River sediment for geochemical analysis (Durango, Colorado, USA).
In an effort to better understand the effects of abandoned mine lands on natural resources, Research Geologists Margaret Berry and Adam Hudson collect samples of ancestral Animas River sediment for geochemical analysis (Durango, Colorado, USA).
Wild burros stand guard on the path to Miocene volcaniclastic rocks of the Death Valley region (California, USA).
Wild burros stand guard on the path to Miocene volcaniclastic rocks of the Death Valley region (California, USA).
Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West project members Adam Hudson, Margaret Berry, Harrison Gray, Cal Ruleman, and Samuel Johnstone perform field work for a topographic asymmetry study in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West project members Adam Hudson, Margaret Berry, Harrison Gray, Cal Ruleman, and Samuel Johnstone perform field work for a topographic asymmetry study in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado, USA).
Research Geologist Jens-Erik Lundstern explores multi-colored lacustrine shales of the Oligocene Amargosa Valley Formation (Bat Mountain, California, USA).
Research Geologist Jens-Erik Lundstern explores multi-colored lacustrine shales of the Oligocene Amargosa Valley Formation (Bat Mountain, California, USA).
Research Geologist Theresa Schwartz takes field notes about the Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of Bat Mountain (Death Valley region, California, USA).
Research Geologist Theresa Schwartz takes field notes about the Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of Bat Mountain (Death Valley region, California, USA).
Research Geologist Theresa Schwartz walks over Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in Death Valley National Park (California, USA).
Research Geologist Theresa Schwartz walks over Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in Death Valley National Park (California, USA).
The flat-lying rhyolite of Cropsy Mountain overlies the hydrothermally altered Summitville Andesite (San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA).
The flat-lying rhyolite of Cropsy Mountain overlies the hydrothermally altered Summitville Andesite (San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA).