BGS’s Data Catalogue, which provides Open Geospatial Consortium "Catalogue Service for the Web" (CSW) access to information about British Geological Survey (BGS) datasets, services (including APIs), and series. At present, this is mainly used to feed data.gov.uk for other information about BGS please go to our website (https://www.bgs.ac.uk/) and data pages (https://www.bgs.ac.uk/geological-data/).

Note: This dataset is designed for the 1:50000 scale but can be viewed in this WMS between 1:100000 and 1:25000 (Only). The 1:50 000 DiGMapGB data covering the whole of the United Kingdom is available in this OGC WMS service for your personal, non-commercial use only. Separate bedrock geology, superficial deposits, artificial ground, mass movement deposits and geological linear features layers are available in this service. For information about more of the British Geological Survey's maps that are available digitally please visit http://www.bgs.ac.uk/products/digitalmaps/digmapgb.html.

The map shows the localities where samples that form part of the BGS rock collections have been taken. Many of these samples are from surface exposure, and were collected by BGS geologists during the course of geological mapping programmes. Others are from onshore boreholes or from mine and quarry workings. The principal collections are the E (England and Wales), S (Scotland), N (continuation of the S collection) and the MR (miscellaneous). The collections, which are held at the BGS offices at Keyworth (Nottingham) and Edinburgh, comprise both hand specimens and thin sections, although in individual samples either may not be immediately available. Users may also note that the BGS holds major collections of borehole cores and hand specimens as well as over a million palaeontological samples. The Britrocks database provides an index to these collections. With over 120,000 records, it now holds data for some 70% of the entire collections, including the UK samples shown in this application as well as rocks from overseas locations and reference minerals. The collections are continuously being added to and sample records from archived registers are also being copied into the electronic database. Map coverage is thin in some areas where copying from original paper registers has not been completed. Further information on Britrocks samples in these and other areas can be obtained from the Chief Curator at the BGS Keyworth (Nottingham) office or from the rock curator at the BGS Murchison House (Edinburgh) office.

Data identifies landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with type of artificial or man-made ground. It indicates areas where the ground surface has been significantly modified by human activity. Types of artificial ground include: Disturbed ground areas of ill-defined shallow or near surface mineral workings where distinction cannot be made between made and worked ground. Infilled ground areas where original geology has been removed and then wholly or partially back filled includes waste or landfill sites. Landscaped ground areas where surface has been reshaped includes former sand and gravel workings for recreation and amenity use. Made ground man made features including embankments and spoil heaps. Worked ground areas where ground has been removed including quarries and road cuttings. Disturbed ground areas of ill-defined shallow or near surface mineral workings where distinction cannot be made between made and worked ground. Whilst artificial ground may not be considered as part of the 'real geology' of bedrock and superficial deposits it does affect them. Artificial ground impacts on the near surface ground conditions which are important to human activities and economic development. Due to the constantly changing nature of land use and re-use/redevelopment, caution must be exercised when using this data as it represents a snapshot in time rather than an evolving picture hence the data may become dated very rapidly. The data are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as ESRI shapefiles and are available under BGS data licence.

Linear features (shown as polylines) represent six classes of geological structural features e.g. faults, folds or landforms e.g. buried channels, glacial drainage channels at the ground or bedrock surface (beneath superficial deposits). Linear features are associated most closely with the bedrock theme either as an intrinsic part of it for example marine bands or affecting it in the case of faults. However landform elements are associated with both bedrock and superficial deposits. The linear features are organised into seven main categories: Alteration area indicating zones of change to the pre-existing rocks due to the application of heat and pressure that can occur round structural features such as faults and dykes. Fault where a body of bedrock has been fractured and displaced by a large scale process affecting the earth's crust. Fold where strata are bent or deformed resulting from changes or movement of the earth's surface creating heat and pressure to reshape and transform the original horizontal strata. Folds appear on all scales, in all rock types and from a variety of causes. Fossil horizons where prolific fossil assemblages occur and can be used to help establish the order in which deposits were laid down (stratigraphy). These horizons allow correlation where sediments of the same age look completely different due to variations in depositional environment. Mineral vein where concentrations of crystallised mineral occur within a rock, they are closely associated with faulting, but may occur independently. Landforms define the landscape by its surface form; these include glacial features such as drumlins, eskers and ice margins. Rock identifies key (marker) beds, recognised as showing distinct physical characteristics or fossil content. Examples include coal seams, gypsum beds and marine bands. The data are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as ESRI shapefiles and are available under BGS data licence.

Data from the DiGMap covering the whole of the United Kingdom at a scale of 1:625 000 is available in this OGC WMS service for personal, non-commercial use only. The service is a contribution to the OneGeology-Europe initiative. The layers can be displayed either by age or by lithology. For more information about the digital maps available from the British Geological Survey, please visit https://www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/bgs-geology/

Data from the DiGMap covering the whole of the United Kingdom at a scale of 1:625 000 is available in this OGC WMS service for personal, non-commercial use only. The service is a contribution to the OneGeology-Europe initiative. The layers can be displayed either by age or by lithology. For more information about the digital maps available from the British Geological Survey, please visit https://www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/bgs-geology/

Data identifying landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with geological names and rock type descriptions. The scale of the data is 1:10 000 scale providing bedrock geology. Onshore coverage is partial with approximately 30% of England, Scotland and Wales available in this version 2 data release. BGS intend to continue developing coverage at this scale; current focus is to include all large priority urban areas, along with road and rail transport corridors. Bedrock geology describes the main mass of solid rocks forming the earth's crust. Bedrock is present everywhere, whether exposed at surface in outcrops or concealed beneath superficial deposits or water bodies. The bedrock geology of Great Britain is very diverse and includes three broad classes based on their mode of origin: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. The data includes attribution to identify each rock type (in varying levels of detail) as described in the BGS Rock Classification Scheme (volumes 1-3). The bedrock has formed over long periods of geological time, from the Archean eon some 7500 million years ago, to the relatively young Pliocene, 58 million years ago. The age of the rocks is identified in the data through their BGS lexicon name (published for each deposit at the time of the original survey or subsequent digital data creation). For stratified rocks i.e. arranged in sequence, this will usually be of a lithostratigraphic type. Other rock types for example intrusive igneous bodies will be of a lithodemic type. More information on the formal naming of UK rocks is available in the BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units. Geological names are based on the lithostratigraphic or lithodemic hierarchy. The lithostratigraphic scheme arranges rock bodies into units based on rock-type and geological time of formation. Where rock-types do not fit into the lithostratigraphic scheme, for example intrusive, deformed rocks subjected to heat and pressure resulting in new or changed rock types; then their classification is based on their rock-type or lithological composition. This assesses visible features such as texture, structure, mineralogy. The data are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as ESRI shapefiles and are available under BGS data licence.

The British Geological Survey has one of the largest databases in the world on the production and trade of minerals. The dataset contains annual production statistics by mass for more than 70 mineral commodities covering the majority of economically important and internationally-traded minerals, metals and mineral-based materials. For each commodity the annual production statistics are recorded for individual countries, grouped by continent. Import and export statistics are also available for years up to 2002. Maintenance of the database is funded by the Science Budget and output is used by government, private industry and others in support of policy, economic analysis and commercial strategy. As far as possible the production data are compiled from primary, official sources. Quality assurance is maintained by participation in such groups as the International Consultative Group on Non-ferrous Metal Statistics. Individual commodity and country tables are available for sale on request.

A comprehensive collection of British fossil specimens and records compiled over 150 years of palaeontological collecting and research. Also includes all associated paper data, registers, indexes of locality and storage and reports of conclusions. The specimens have variable scattered coverage mostly within the UK and Ireland but there are some overseas data. Some specimens are sited accurately to less than 1 metre, whilst some specimens have accuracies of several kilometres. Includes both locality based biostratigraphic material, plus significant type, figured and cited samples of taxonomic importance. Specimens collected by Survey geologists throughout history of Survey, with some donated specimens (e.g. the Geological Society of London Collection) predating 1835, material is still being added. The collection includes hand specimens, casts & moulds, microfossil slides & cut sections and also registers containing identifications and locality information. The specimens have various uses within biostratigraphy and taxonomy. The data have key attribute data such as locality, stratigraphic age, matrix lithology, taxonomy, etc that could be used for linking in other datasets. Access and use of the data is subject to current policies, inline with MDA's (Museum Documentation Association) Spectrum guidelines and MLA's (Museum Libraries Archives Council) Accreditation guidelines. The collection can be viewed by loan or visit, whilst copies of the associated paper data can be made available as photocopy, scan, spreadsheet, etc., subject to certain constraints and conditions.

This layer of the GeoIndex shows the availability of 1:25000 scale Classical Areas Geological Maps. The maps themselves show the occurrence, nature and stratigraphic age of rocks. They are available for selected areas of outstanding geological interest in the United Kingdom, and in a number of versions (Solid, or Solid and Drift combined, Bedrock or Superficial). Maps are normally available in both flat and folded format. 1:25000 scale maps are also available for the Channel Islands. To order maps, take note of the map name and use the BGS Internet Shop.

This is the collection of cores and samples held by BGS for the sea areas around the UK. It includes material collected by BGS during its mapping projects and material donated to BGS by other organisations. The main core and sample types are grab samples (sea-bed), gravity cores, vibrocores and rock-drill cores (up to 6m in length), and borehole cores (up to 274m in length). The sea-bed grab samples are Holocene sediments present at the sea-bed and are stored in plastic jars. Where possible, sub-sample material has been retained after analysis. The bulk of the cores consist of Holocene and Pleistocene material. The rest are of bedrock ranging in age from Neogene to Pre-Cambrian. A lot of the core was collected in plastic liner tubing and the unlithified cores have been split vertically. The bulk of the material was collected in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and early 1990's with ongoing additions of new sample and cores each year. The distribution is very variable, but, in general, there are grab samples and/or shallow cores spaced about every 5 - 10km across the entire UK Continental Shelf. In some localised areas the sampling density is much higher. The samples and cores are applicable to a wide range of uses including environmental, geotechnical and geological studies.

Dataset of mineral occurrences in the UK including locations of known mines, mineral showings and localities, including sites where minerals of economic interest have been identified in panned concentrates. Data is normally taken from published sources or from internal BGS records, such as field sheets, rock and stream sediment collection cards. Data compilation started ca. 1994.

The 1:63 360 / 1:50 000 scale map series are the most useful scale for most purposes. They provide almost complete coverage of onshore Great Britain. The BGS collection of 1:63 360 and 1:50 000 scale maps comprises two map series: - Geological Survey of England and Wales 1:63 360 / 1:50 000 Geological Map Series [New Series]. These maps are based on the Ordnance Survey One-inch New Series topographic basemaps and provide almost complete coverage of England and Wales, with the exception of sheet 180 (Knighton). The quarter-sheets of 1:63 360 Old Series sheets 91 to 110 coincide with sheets 1 to 73 of the New Series maps. These earlier maps often carry two sheet numbers which refer to the Old Series and the New Series. - Geological Survey of Scotland 1:63 360 / 1:50 000 Geological Map Series. These maps are based on the Ordnance Survey First, Second, Third and Fourth editions of the One-inch map of Scotland. The maps used the most recent topographic basemap available at the time. In the Western Isles, one-inch mapping was abandoned and replaced by maps at 1:100 000 scale, which are associated with this series. Sheets were traditionally issued at 1:63 360 scale, with the first 1:50 000 maps appearing in 1972. Sheets at 1:50 000 scale may be either facsimile enlargements of an existing 1:63 360 sheets, or may contain new geology and cartography. The latter bear the additional series designation '1:50 000 series'. Within the Scottish series, new mapping at 1:50 000 scale was split into east and west sheets. For example, the original one-inch sheet 32 became 1:50 000 sheets 32E and 32W. A number of irregular sheets were also introduced with the new 1:50 000 scale mapping. There are a number of irregular special sheets within both series. Geological maps represent a geologist's compiled interpretation of the geology of an area. A geologist will consider the data available at the time, including measurements and observations collected during field campaigns, as well as their knowledge of geological processes and the geological context to create a model of the geology of an area. This model is then fitted to a topographic basemap and drawn up at the appropriate scale, with generalization if necessary, to create a geological map, which is a representation of the geological model. Explanatory notes and vertical and horizontal cross sections may be published with the map. Geological maps may be created to show various aspects of the geology, or themes. The most common map themes held by BGS are solid (later referred to as bedrock) and drift (later referred to as superficial). These maps are, for the most part, hard-copy paper records stored in the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) and are delivered as digital scans through the BGS website.

The 5km Hex GS Landslides dataset shows a generalised view of the GeoSure Landslides v8 dataset to a hexagonal grid resolution of 64.95km coverage area (side length of 5km). This dataset indicates areas of potential ground movement in a helpful and user-friendly format. The rating is based on a highest level of susceptibility identified within that Hex area: Low (1), Moderate (2), Significant (3). Areas of localised significant rating are also indicated. The summarising process via spatial statistics at this scale may lead to under or over estimation of the extent of a hazard. The supporting GeoSure reports can help inform planning decisions and indicate causes of subsidence. The methodology is based on the BGS Digital Map (DiGMapGB-50) and expert knowledge of the behaviour of the formations so defined. This dataset provides an assessment of slope instability. Landslide hazard occurs due to particular slope characteristics (such as geology, gradient, sources of water, drainage, man-made constructions) combining to cause the slope to become unstable. Downslope movement of materials, such as a landslide or rockfall may lead to a loss of support and damage to buildings. Complete Great Britain national coverage is available.

Data identifying landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with geological names. The scale of the data is 1:50 000 scale. Onshore coverage is provided for all of England, Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Data are supplied as five themes: bedrock, superficial deposits, mass movement, artificial ground and linear features. Bedrock geology describes the main mass of solid rocks forming the earth's crust. Bedrock is present everywhere, whether exposed at surface in outcrops or concealed beneath superficial deposits or water bodies. Geological names are based on the lithostratigraphic or lithodemic hierarchy. The lithostratigraphic scheme arranges rock bodies into units based on rock-type and geological time of formation. Where rock-types do not fit into the lithostratigraphic scheme, for example intrusive, deformed rocks subjected to heat and pressure resulting in new or changed rock types; then their classification is based on their rock-type or lithological composition. This assesses visible features such as texture, structure, mineralogy. Superficial deposits are younger geological deposits formed during the most recent geological time; the Quaternary. These deposits rest on older rocks or deposits referred to as bedrock. The superficial deposits theme defines landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with a geological name and their deposit-type or lithological composition. Mass movement describes areas where deposits have moved down slope under gravity to form landslips. These landslips can affect bedrock, superficial or artificial ground. Mass movement deposits are described in the BGS Rock Classification Scheme Volume 4. However this data also includes foundered strata, where ground has collapsed due to subsidence (this is not described in the Rock Classification Scheme). Caution should be exercised with this data; historically BGS has not always recorded mass movement events and due to the dynamic nature of occurrence significant changes may have occurred since the data was released. Artificial (man-made) theme (shown as polygons) indicates areas where the ground surface has been significantly modified by human activity. Whilst artificial ground may not be considered as part of the 'real geology' of bedrock and superficial deposits it does affect them. Artificial ground impacts on the near surface ground conditions which are important to human activities and economic development. Due to the constantly changing nature of land use and re-use/redevelopment, caution must be exercised when using this data as it represents a snapshot in time rather than an evolving picture hence the data may become dated very rapidly. Linear features (shown as polylines) represent geological structural features e.g. faults, folds or landforms e.g. buried channels, glacial drainage channels at the ground or bedrock surface (beneath superficial deposits). Linear features are associated most closely with the bedrock theme either as an intrinsic part of it for example marine bands or affecting it in the case of faults. Landform elements are associated with both bedrock and superficial deposits. All five data themes are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as ESRI shapefiles and are available under BGS data licence.

The data shows the location of seabed and sub-seabed samples collected from the UK continental shelf, held by BGS. A BGS Sample Station is a general location at which sampling with one or more equipment types, such as borehole, grab, dredge, has been used. Historically, all deployment of equipment was recorded with the same coordinates so the data shown here will often show several sets of data at the same location. Newer data will begin to show distinct locations based on an equipment type. This layer shows all the BGS Sample Station Locations, including those where the Sampling was unsuccessful. The layers below are divided into distinct equipment types, plus a separate layer for unsuccessful sampling. BGS Sample Station Locations can have a wide range of potential information available. This can vary from a basic description derived from a simple piece of paper up to a complex set of information with a number of datasets. These datasets can include particle size analysis, geotechnical parameters, detailed marine geology, geochemical analysis and others. Prices are available on further enquiry.

The Geotechnical Database contains information about site investigation reports, boreholes and samples. It contains geotechnical measurements taken over borehole intervals and on samples. Some of the data is obtained digitally from AGS files (Association of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists - File Transfer Format), some is obtained manually from Site Investigation Reports stored in the National Geoscience Data Centre. The database currently contains geotechnical data from over 450 000 laboratory test samples and core descriptions, borehole observations and in situ tests from over 96 000 boreholes extracted from over 4800 site investigation reports. The database underpins BGS Geo-engineering properties and processes research and is an important information resource for answering enquiries and providing for the data needs of external customers.

The Seismic Locations and Sections database (LOCSEC) stores digitised seismic reflection survey location and line-interpretation data. Supplementary data stored includes map projection information and rock-unit seismic velocity data. The data are grouped by interpretation project area. Location data are input from digitised seismic shotpoint (SP) or common depth point (CDP) maps, or from direct input of digital navigation data. [See: Original Seismic Shotpoint Location Maps (ORIGSPMAPS) and Digital Seismic Shotpoint Location Maps (DIGSPMAPS) datasets]. Line-interpretation data are input from digitised pick-lines on manually interpreted printed seismic sections. [See: Copy Seismic Sections dataset (COPYSEISECS)]. In-house software is used for data management and display, to perform interpretation related tasks, e.g. depth-conversion, and to merge data into X, Y, Z form for input to 3D mapping and modelling packages such as EarthVision. Data in LOCSEC may also be related to the borehole interpretations held in the Stratigraphic Surfaces Database (SSD). Almost all data are within the UK Onshore area; although there are some UK near-shore and offshore (North Sea, Irish Sea) and foreign data. Most data were acquired for commercial hydrocarbon exploration and subsequently provided to BGS for use on specific projects. Some data were acquired by BGS and other public-sector bodies, e.g. BIRPS, for academic research.

The official BGS photographic archive contains an estimated 300,000 photographs. The archive has been built up systematically since its founding in 1891 and is becoming a very popular educational resource for images of the geology of the UK and overseas. A wide range of topics is represented: field geology, landscapes, oblique aerial photographs, geohazards, marine operations, fossil, rocks and photomicrographs of rocks and minerals in thin section. In addition there are an estimated 225,000 photographs held with former groups, projects and individual geoscientists. The collections hold a diverse range of photographic material which includes black and white or colour negatives, transparencies and prints. The film formats range from 35mm to 10"X8" which includes both film and large format glass plates.