OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A new Nebraska map has been added to the national record.
This week, the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln issued a new Nebraska map depicting the state’s land surface, providing an official reference documenting the geological makeup of the state: rock and sediment types, ages, structures, and the arrangement of formations at the surface.
“More than three-quarters of Nebraska is covered by sediment, most of it wind-blown sand and silt,” according to the USGS news release. “These materials carry water into aquifers, supply nutrients for crops, support wildlife habitat along the Central Flyway for migratory birds, and contain sand, gravel and other materials used in construction and infrastructure.”
The last time such information was published in a map was 1986, showing bedrock structure underlying the surface, shedding light on longer-term geologic history instead of more recent sediments — all at a scale of 1:24,000. The new map provides much more topographic detail as it draws geological and soil information provided by the USGS 3D Elevation Program. It was built with datasets including LiDAR, and other maps that scale up to 1:1,000,000…