Surficial geologic map database for the Blanding, Dove Creek, Cortez, and Bluff 30-minute by 60-minute quadrangles, Utah and Colorado

This data release presents geologic map data for the surficial geology of the Blanding, Dove Creek, Cortez, and Bluff 30-minute by 60-minute quadrangles, Utah and Colorado. This 1:100,000 scale geologic mapping incorporates new interpretive contributions and compilation from 1:24,000 to 1:250,000 scale published geologic map data sources. Much of the geology incorporated from previous mapping is adjusted with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) 1-meter digital elevation models, satellite imagery, and field observations in key localities to improve spatial resolution of the data and eliminate mismatches at source map boundaries. This data set represents only the surficial geology, defined as generally unconsolidated sedimentary deposits that are Quaternary or partly Quaternary in age. Bedrock, volcanic deposits, and faults without documented Quaternary offset are not included in this database, but are instead published in a separate companion bedrock database of the same footprint. The surficial data set encompasses three physiographic provinces; the Canyonlands and Navajo sections of the Colorado Plateau, and the Southern Rocky Mountains. These physiographic provinces are split further into subprovinces based on general deposit type; alluvium, colluvium, alluvium/colluvium, glacial, eolian, and mass-wasting; which host the specific map units that are binned by age (e.g., Holocene, Pleistocene, Quaternary undivided) as relevant to available information, chronology, and map scale. Map unit polygons also include attributes such as constituent material, genetic type, compilation method, and links to the source map(s) from which data was compiled. Gaps in map compilation are related to a lack of published geologic mapping at the time of compilation, and not necessarily a lack of surficial deposits. The database follows the schema and structure of the Seamless Integrated Geologic Mapping (SIGMa; Turner and others, 2022) extension to the Geologic Map Schema (GeMS; USGS, 2020).