Geologic Resources Inventory

Geology is the foundation of park ecosystems and provides important information needed for park decision making. Helping parks understand the role that geology plays in the landscape and environment is a core function of the Geologic Resource Inventory (GRI).

This page contains infomation about the Geologic Resources Inventory:

• Purpose;
• Products (Scoping Summaries, Geologic Maps, and Geologic Reports);
• Product Status;
• Examples of applied uses of GRI data; and
• Contact Information

Purpose

The Geologic Resource Inventory (GRI) is one of 12 natural resource inventory efforts within the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Program strives to advance science based management of natural resources in the national parks. The GRI aims to raise awareness about geology and the role that geologic features and processes play in the environment. The Inventory and Monitoring Program serves natural resource managers and staff, park planners, interpreters, researchers, and other NPS personnel. The Geologic Resources Division of the NPS Natural Resource Program Center administers the GRI.

Products

The GRI team, working closely with the Colorado State University Earth Science Department and a variety of other partners, provides each of the 270 natural area parks with a geologic scoping meeting, digital geologic map data, and a park-specific geologic report. These products are designed to enhance stewardship of park resources by providing valuable information about geologic formations, hazards, and links between geology, history, and other natural resources. The maps and reports are available for use by a wide variety of audiences.

Scoping Meetings and Summary

The GRI team conducts scoping meetings at parks to review available data on park geology and discuss geologic issues. In addition to GRI staff, meeting participants may include: park managers and staff; geologists from the U.S. Geological Survey, state surveys, academic and private sectors; and other interested parties. Together, they evaluate the extent and quality of existing geologic maps and park-specific geologic resource management issues. The GRI may provide funds for new mapping in parks that lack or have inadequate map coverage.

Following the meeting, a scoping summary is produced. The summary document details the main points of the meeting and lays out the geologic mapping plan. While early scoping summaries focused primarily on geologic map issues, more recent summaries also include outlines and discussions of geologic issues, features, and processes. The summaries also include a list of meeting participants.

Links to Scoping Summaries can be found on our publications page.

Geologic Maps (GIS)

Digital geologic maps reproduce all aspects of traditional paper maps, including notes, legend, and cross sections. The GRI may use bedrock, surficial, and special purpose maps such as geomorphological or geologic hazard maps to create digital data and meet park needs. This product allows geologic information to be easily viewed or analyzed in conjunction with a wide range of other resource management information in park geographic information systems (GIS).

• Geologic maps are digitized and/or converted to the GRI data model.
• GIS data is produced in ESRI Geodatabase and Shapefile formats.
• A helpfile (.hlp format) or PDF document accompanies each map and includes all aspects of the original source products, including the geologic units and their descriptions, geologic cross sections, the geologic report, references and all other pertinent images and information contained in the original publication.

Links to Geologic Map data can be found on our publications page.

Geologic Reports

After the geologic map is completed, a geologic report is prepared. GRI reports contain five major sections:

• Identification and description of key geologic resource management issues;
• Discussion of geologic features and processes important to park ecosystems and management;
• A map unit properties table that identifies characteristics of geologic map units;
• A brief geologic history of the park area; and
• An overview of the digital geologic map data.

Links to Geologic Reports can be found on our publications page.

Status

View current status of scoping meetings, geologic reports, and digital geologic map data.

Park Uses of Geologic Information

• Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks - Document glacial response to climate change
• Buffalo National River - Explore groundwater and karst interaction
• Dinosaur National Monument - Identify threatened plant habitat
• Coronado National Memorial - Locate threatened animal habitat
• Yosemite National Park - Identify areas with rockfall potential

GRI Contacts

Bruce Heise
GRI Coordinator
NPS e-mail format: firstname_lastname@nps.gov

Tim Connors
Mapping Lead
NPS e-mail format: firstname_lastname@nps.gov

Jason Kenworthy
Report Lead
NPS e-mail format: firstname_lastname@nps.gov