Digitized Legacy Maps of Surficial Geology and Morphology of the Central Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska

This dataset represents a digitized version of the Rawlinson 1993 surficial geologic map of the Flaxman Island and Beechey Point quadrangles, and portions of the Mount Michelson and Harrison Bay quadrangles at 1:63,360 scale. In this newly digitized version of the map, the original maps were scanned, georeferenced, and projected into GIS. Approximately 100-200 typographic and labelling errors from the paper version were corrected with inputs from the original author (corrections completed in 2024). However, this digitized product still adheres to the 1993 interpretation of the surficial geology. Original descriptions of the map units can be found with the 1993 publication (https://doi.org/10.14509/2484). The original 1993 map was generated via photointerpretation done manually on acetate sheets overlain on color infrared aerial photographs, aided by a stereoscope, and then manually transferred to a map base using a zoom-transfer scope. Only low-resolution 1:250,000-scale black-and-white Landsat imagery was available for reference in the 1980s when the mapping was completed. After photointerpretation, the surficial geology units and morphology information was field spot-checked, with extensive fieldwork occurring between 1981 and 1985. As part of the fieldwork, locations with exposure along coasts, rivers, and gravel pits were prioritized, with 464 stratigraphic sections measured and described, and 678 samples collected for analyses that included grain size, radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating, amino acid analysis in mollusk shells and wood, identification of wood types, and microfossil and pollen contents. An important note of caution to users is that this digitized product represents the 1993 interpretation of surficial geology. Modifications to the 1993 product address typographic errors and do not consider re-interpretations of the surficial geological units since then, and more recent information about the regional surficial geology is available.