DiGMapGB-50: Bedrock Geology of Great Britain at 1:50,000 Scale

A 1:50,000 scale digital geological map covering the bedrock of England, Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. The data, created by the British Geological Survey, identifies landscape areas as polygons attributed with geological names, rock types, and ages. Bedrock formations range from the Archean eon, around 7500 million years ago, to the Pliocene, 58 million years ago.

Use Cases

• Regional geological modeling based on polygon data attributed with rock type and age.
• Spatial analysis of bedrock distribution for engineering or environmental planning based on the 1:50,000 scale map.
• Research into the lithostratigraphic and lithodemic hierarchy of UK rocks based on the BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units.
• Creating thematic maps of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock classes across Great Britain.

Strengths

• Covers the entire onshore area of Great Britain, including the Isle of Man.
• Provides detailed attribution linked to the formal BGS Rock Classification Scheme and Lexicon.
• Represents bedrock geology at a detailed 1:50,000 scale.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the source survey methods.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Collection Method

Likely compiled from original geological surveys and subsequent digital data creation.

Time Range

Bedrock ages from the Archean eon (~7500 million years ago) to the Pliocene (~58 million years ago).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-28 14:04:36.582635; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Onshore coverage for England, Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.