DiGMapGB-50 Superficial: Geological Map of Great Britain at 1:50,000 Scale

Vector data identifying landscape areas as polygons attributed with geological names and rock type descriptions for superficial deposits. The dataset provides onshore coverage for all of England, Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man at a 1:50,000 scale. It was created by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and classifies deposits from the Quaternary period, such as glacial deposits and river terraces, using the BGS Rock Classification Scheme.

Use Cases

• Modeling groundwater flow and aquifer potential based on superficial deposit types like sand and gravel.
• Assessing geological hazards and land stability for construction based on deposit composition and origin.
• Studying Quaternary environmental change and past glacial activity using the mapped distribution of glacial deposits.
• Informing agricultural and ecological land management based on soil parent materials identified in the map data.

Strengths

• Provides complete onshore coverage for England, Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.
• Features a detailed classification scheme (BGS Rock Classification Scheme) for deposit types.
• Data is available in a standard vector format (ESRI shapefile) for GIS applications.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Collection Method

Likely digitized from geological field surveys and mapping.

Time Range

Covers the Quaternary period, extending back about 2.58 million years.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-28 14:04:37.610769; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Onshore Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland) and the Isle of Man.