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Margaret E Berry

My research interests revolve around using soils as a tool in geologic research. I mostly work on surficial geologic mapping studies in the western United States, mapping deposits left by rivers, streams, glaciers, wind and mass wasting processes, to determine Quaternary stratigraphy, geologic history, geomorphic system response to changes in climate and land use, and Quaternary fault activity.

Professional Experience

  • 2004‒present:   Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey

  • 1996-2004:        Consulting Geologist working as an Independent Contractor

  • 1990-1996:        Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Education and Certifications

  • 1990: Ph.D., Geology, University of Colorado Boulder. Dissertation: Soil-geomorphic analysis of late Quaternary glaciation and faulting, eastern escarpment of the central Sierra Nevada, CA

  • 1984: M.S., Geology, University of Colorado Boulder. Thesis: Morphological and chemical characteristics of soil catenas on Pinedale and Bull Lake moraine slopes, Bear Valley (Salmon River Mtns.) ID

  • 1981: B.S., Geology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. Senior Thesis: Geomorphology and relative dating analysis of Quaternary fluvial terraces on the Mad River, near Blue Lake, CA

Science and Products

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Mt. Ouray, Colorado with aspen colors

Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West

The Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West project was launched with the goal of producing a new digital geologic map database and 3D geologic model of a transect from the Rio Grande rift to the Basin and Range, based on a synthesis of existing geologic maps with new targeted new mapping, subsurface data, and other data sets. This database will integrate disparate map data, resolve...
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
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Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West

The Geologic Framework of the Intermountain West project was launched with the goal of producing a new digital geologic map database and 3D geologic model of a transect from the Rio Grande rift to the Basin and Range, based on a synthesis of existing geologic maps with new targeted new mapping, subsurface data, and other data sets. This database will integrate disparate map data, resolve...
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Detail of Scientific Investigations Map 3344 map

Greater Platte River Basins and Northern Plains Geologic Framework Studies

Primary objectives of the project are to conduct surficial geologic mapping studies in the central and northern Great Plains in support of ecosystem and climate change research. Major goals are to obtain a better understanding of (1) past climate information recorded in the geologic record, and (2) geomorphic or climatic thresholds that may have triggered major changes in the ecosystems in the...
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
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Greater Platte River Basins and Northern Plains Geologic Framework Studies

Primary objectives of the project are to conduct surficial geologic mapping studies in the central and northern Great Plains in support of ecosystem and climate change research. Major goals are to obtain a better understanding of (1) past climate information recorded in the geologic record, and (2) geomorphic or climatic thresholds that may have triggered major changes in the ecosystems in the...
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Niobrara River valley

Surficial Geologic Mapping in the Greater Platte River Basins

A Task of the Greater Platte River Basins and Northern Plains Geologic Framework Studies Project focusing on these study areas: (1) South Platte River Corridor, Eastern Colorado and (2) Niobrara National Scenic River, Nebraska
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
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Surficial Geologic Mapping in the Greater Platte River Basins

A Task of the Greater Platte River Basins and Northern Plains Geologic Framework Studies Project focusing on these study areas: (1) South Platte River Corridor, Eastern Colorado and (2) Niobrara National Scenic River, Nebraska
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Detail of Quaternary geologic map of the Havre 1° x 2° quadrangle, United States

Small-Scale Surficial Geologic Mapping in the Northern Plains

Small-scale surficial geologic maps depict the areal distribution of surficial deposits, rocks, and other materials of Quaternary age, and emphasize their physical properties.
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
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Small-Scale Surficial Geologic Mapping in the Northern Plains

Small-scale surficial geologic maps depict the areal distribution of surficial deposits, rocks, and other materials of Quaternary age, and emphasize their physical properties.
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Database for the geologic map of the upper Santa Cruz River basin, southern Arizona

This digital publication contains the database, base maps, and style files used to build the geologic map of the upper Santa Cruz River basin in southern Arizona published in U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3490 (Page and others, 2023). Shapefiles are also included for the user’s convenience. In the database, there are polygon features outlining the map units and dat
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Data Release of Geologic Map of the Weldona 7.5' Quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado

The Weldona 7.5' quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the Pleistocene to the present. The Sout
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Data Release of OSL, 14C, and U-series age data supporting geologic mapping along the South Platte River corridor in northeastern Colorado

In conjunction with geologic mapping of four 7.5′ quadrangles along the South Platte River corridor in northeastern Colorado (Masters, Orchard, Weldona, and Fort Morgan), geochronology samples were collected and analyzed using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), radiocarbon (14C), or U-series methods to provide age control for mapping units. This section of river corridor is largely covered b
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Geologic map and hydrogeologic investigations of the upper Santa Cruz River basin, southern Arizona

This report includes an updated geologic map and cross sections of the upper Santa Cruz River basin, southern Arizona. The map and cross sections describe the geometry, thickness, and structure of the Miocene to Holocene units which form the main aquifers in the basin. The report also includes results of new hydrogeologic studies including (1) mapping and defining depth to bedrock based on geophys
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Geologic map of the Fort Morgan 7.5' quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado

The Fort Morgan 7.5′ quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the late Pliocene to the present. Th
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Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Geologic map of the Weldona 7.5' quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado

The Weldona 7.5′ quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the Pleistocene to the present. The Sout
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Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Geologic map of the Rio Rico and Nogales 7.5’ quadrangles, Santa Cruz County, Arizona

The Rio Rico and Nogales (Arizona) 1:24,000-scale quadrangles are located in the Basin and Range Province of southern Arizona, and the southern edge of the map is the international border with Sonora, Mexico.  The major urban area is Nogales, a bi-national city known as “the gateway to Mexico.”  Rocks exposed in the map area range in age from Jurassic through Quaternary.  Major physiographic, geol
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Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Geologic map of the Masters 7.5' quadrangle, Weld and Morgan Counties, Colorado

The Masters 7.5' quadrangle is located along the South Platte River corridor on the semiarid plains of eastern Colorado and contains surficial deposits that record alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes that have operated in concert with environmental changes from Pleistocene to present time. The South Platte River, originating high in the Colorado Front Range, has played a major role in shapin
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Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Geologic map of the Orchard 7.5' quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado

The Orchard 7.5' quadrangle is located along the South Platte River corridor on the semi-arid plains of eastern Colorado, and contains surficial deposits that record alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes that have operated through environmental changes from the Pleistocene to the present. The South Platte River, originating high in the Colorado Front Range, has played a major role in shaping t
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Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Geologic map of Big Bend National Park, Texas

The purpose of this map is to provide the National Park Service and the public with an updated digital geologic map of Big Bend National Park (BBNP). The geologic map report of Maxwell and others (1967) provides a fully comprehensive account of the important volcanic, structural, geomorphological, and paleontological features that define BBNP. However, the map is on a geographically distorted plan
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Surficial Geologic Map of the Death Valley Junction 30' x 60' Quadrangle, California and Nevada

This surficial geologic map of the Death Valley Junction 30' x 60' quadrangle was compiled digitally at 1:100,000 scale. The map area covers the central part of Death Valley and adjacent mountain ranges - the Panamint Range on the west and the Funeral Mountains on the east - as well as areas east of Death Valley including some of the Amargosa Desert, the Spring Mountains and Pahrump Valley. Shaded
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
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The Seamless Integrated Geologic Mapping (SIGMa) extension to the Geologic Map Schema (GeMS)

Geologic maps are the fundamental building blocks of surface and subsurface three-dimensional geologic framework models of the Earth’s crust. However, as the production and availability of geologic map databases continues to increase, inconsistent data models and the lack of synthesized, national geologic map data at scales appropriate for informed decision making negatively affect the functional
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Pleistocene and Holocene landscape development of the South Platte River Corridor, Northeastern Colorado

This report provides a synthesis of geologic mapping and geochronologic research along the South Platte River between the town of Masters and the city of Fort Morgan, northeastern Colorado. This work was undertaken to better understand landscape development along this part of the river corridor. The focus is on times of rapid change within the fluvial system that had a marked effect on the landsca
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Office of Science Quality and Integrity

Project plan-Surficial geologic mapping and hydrogeologic framework studies in the Greater Platte River Basins (Central Great Plains) in support of ecosystem and climate change research

The Greater Platte River Basin area spans a central part of the Midcontinent and Great Plains from the Rocky Mountains on the west to the Missouri River on the east, and is defined to include drainage areas of the Platte, Niobrara, and Republican Rivers, the Rainwater Basin, and other adjoining areas overlying the northern High Plains aquifer. The Greater Platte River Basin contains abundant surfi
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Preliminary geologic map of the Laredo, Crystal City–Eagle Pass, San Antonio, and Del Rio 1° x 2° quadrangles, Texas, and the Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Acuña, Piedras Negras, and Nueva Rosita 1° x 2° quadrangles, Mexico

The purpose of this map is to provide an integrated, bi-national geologic map dataset for display and analyses on an Arc Internet Map Service (IMS) dedicated to environmental health studies in the United States-Mexico border region. The IMS web site was designed by the US-Mexico Border Environmental Health Initiative project and collaborators, and the IMS and project web site address is http://bor
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Preliminary geologic map of the southern Funeral Mountains and adjacent ground-water discharge sites, Inyo County, California, and Nye County, Nevada

This map covers the southern part of the Funeral Mountains, and adjacent parts of four structural basins - Furnace Creek, Amargosa Valley, Opera House, and central Death Valley. It extends over three full 7.5-minute quadrangles, and parts of eleven others - a total area of about 950 square kilometers. The boundaries of this map were drawn to include all of the known proximal hydrogeologic features

Geological, geochemical, and geophysical studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Big Bend National Park, Texas

Big Bend National Park (BBNP), Tex., covers 801,163 acres (3,242 km2) and was established in 1944 through a transfer of land from the State of Texas to the United States. The park is located along a 118-mile (190-km) stretch of the Rio Grande at the United States-Mexico border. The park is in the Chihuahuan Desert, an ecosystem with high mountain ranges and basin environments containing a wide var
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mercury Research Laboratory

Proceedings of a USGS Workshop on Facing Tomorrow's Challenges Along the U.S.-Mexico Border - Monitoring, Modeling, and Forecasting Change Within the Arizona-Sonora Transboundary Watersheds

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS Competition for water resources, habitats, and urban areas in the Borderlands has become an international concern. In the United States, Department of Interior Bureaus, Native American Tribes, and other State and Federal partners rely on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide unbiased science and leadership in the Borderlands region. Consequently,
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Western Geographic Science Center

Digital Geologic Map of the Nevada Test Site and Vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California

This digital geologic map of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and vicinity, as well as its accompanying digital geophysical maps, are compiled at 1:100,000 scale. The map compilation presents new polygon (geologic map unit contacts), line (fault, fold axis, metamorphic isograd, dike, and caldera wall) and point (structural attitude) vector data for the NTS and vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties,

Proceedings of Conference on Status of Geologic Research and Mapping, Death Valley National Park

Welcome to this conference on the “Status of Geologic Research and Mapping in Death Valley National Park.” We organized this conference in an effort to foster communication and increase awareness among parties conducting geologic research in and around the park. Additionally, we hope to assess the status of geologic mapping efforts within the park boundaries in an effort to provide a framework for

Collaborative research with GEO-HAZ Consulting, Inc., and U.S. Geological Survey: interaction of volcanic and tectonic processes in the past 40,000 years near Long Valley Caldera

Non-USGS Publications**

Bursik, M.I., Renshaw, C.E., McCalpin, J.P., and Berry, M.E., 2003, A volcanotectonic cascade—Activation of range front faulting and eruptions by dike intrusion, Mono Basin-Long Valley Caldera, California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 108, no. B8, 14 p.
Berry, M.E., and Staub, J.R., 1998, Root traces and the definition of paleosols, in Follmer, L.R., Johnson, D.L., and Catt, J.A., eds., Revisitation of concepts in paleopedology, transactions of the Second International Symposium on Paleopedology: Quaternary International, v. 51-52, p. 9‒10.
Berry, M.E., 1997, Geomorphic analysis of late Quaternary faulting on Hilton Creek, Round Valley, and Coyote Warp faults, east central Sierra Nevada, California: Geomorphology, v. 20, p. 177‒195.
McCalpin, J.P., and Berry, M.E., 1996, Soil catenas to estimate ages of movements on normal fault scarps, with an example from the Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah, U.S.A.: Catena, v. 27, p. 265‒286.
Berry, M.E., 1994, Soil-geomorphic analysis of late-Pleistocene glacial sequences in the McGee, Pine, and Bishop Creek drainages, east-central Sierra Nevada, California: Quaternary Research, v. 41, p. 160‒175.
Birkeland, P.W., Berry, M.E., and Swanson, D.K., 1991, Use of soil catena field data for estimating relative ages of moraines: Geology, v. 19, p. 281‒283.
Berry, M.E., 1990, Soil-catena development on fault scarps of different ages, eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, California, in Knuepfer, P.L.K., and McFadden, L.D., eds., Proceedings of the 21st Annual Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium on Soils and Landscape Evolution: Geomorphology, v. 3, issues 3‒4, p. 333‒350.
Berry, M.E., 1990, Soil-geomorphic analysis of late Quaternary glaciation and faulting, eastern escarpment of the central Sierra Nevada, California: Ph.D. dissertation, University of Colorado Boulder, 365 p.
Birkeland, P.W., and Berry, M.E., 1988, Frequency and magnitude of late Quaternary faulting, Sierra Nevada, California: U.S. Geological Survey Technical Report, 15 p.
Berry, M.E., 1987, Morphological and chemical characteristics of soil catenas on Pinedale and Bull Lake moraine slopes in the Salmon River Mountains, Idaho: Quaternary Research, v. 28, p. 210‒225.
Berry, M.E., 1984, Morphological and chemical characteristics of soil catenas on Pinedale and Bull Lake moraine slopes, Bear Valley (Salmon River Mountains) Idaho: M.S. Thesis, University of Colorado Boulder, 149 p.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Science and Products