Digital Geologic Map of Big South Fork National Park and Vicinity, Tennessee and Kentucky

National Park Service Geologic Resources Inventory data layers for Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The dataset includes GIS files in geodatabase, geopackage, and KMZ formats, supported by ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, and Google Earth. It was compiled from source maps by the Kentucky Geological Survey and U.S. Geological Survey spanning 1972 to 2016.

Use Cases

• Visualize geologic unit distributions based on the provided GIS data layers.
• Conduct spatial analysis of geologic features like contacts and folds mentioned in the platform tags.
• Create custom geologic maps for the park area using the supplied ArcGIS Pro or QGIS project files.
• Perform basic 3D visualization of geology using the provided KMZ file for Google Earth.

Strengths

• Data is available in multiple standard GIS formats (file geodatabase, OGC geopackage, KMZ) for flexibility.
• Includes ancillary documentation with geologic unit descriptions and a user-friendly FAQ metadata file.
• Supported by project files for major GIS software (ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, QGIS).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The KMZ/KML format version is described as limited in data layers and ancillary table access.
• Row count and specific data volume are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Park Service (NPS) Geologic Resources Inventory (GRI) program, adapted from Tennessee Division of Geology and U.S. Geological Survey maps.

Collection Method

Compiled and digitized from existing geologic maps.

Time Range

Source maps span from 1972 to 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-04 00:58:58.811458; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and vicinity, Tennessee and Kentucky.