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Click on thumbnail image below to change basemap

 

Scale and Coverage

At the full extent, 1:625 000 scale geology is displayed. Zoom in to switch to 1: 50 000 scale geology. The scale of the currently displayed geology is shown on the key button (below the transarency slider).

5% of 1:50 000 scale data is unavailable for England, Scotland and Wales.
Only 1:625 000 scale data is available for Northern Ireland.

Geological Layers

This viewer shows only bedrock geology and the overlying superficial deposits. More geological layers (artificial ground, faults, mass movements, etc) are available through a WMS service.

Navigation

Move around the map by the arrow buttons on the top left of the map or left-clicking and dragging the mouse in the direction you wish to travel. To zoom in or out of the map, use the plus and minus buttons on the top left of the map. Alternatively, you can use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out of the map. Holding the Shift key and dragging a rectangle allows you to zoom in to that extent.

Zoom to a Location

To zoom to a known location (e.g. a postcode or town), click on the 'Go to Location' button. Note that only the best match is returned. In the case of a place name that occurs several times in the UK, including the county name will help to find the desired result e.g. 'stowe gloucestershire'

Geology Details

Click on the map to bring up an information window giving details of the bedrock geology and superficial deposits at that location. Clicking on either 'Bedrock geology' or 'Superficial deposits' in the title bar of this information window allows you to toggle between the two results. Click on the 'Further details' link to open the BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units.

Geology Key

Click on the geology key button to view a key of the currently visible bedrock geology and superficial deposits. Click on the rock name to open the BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units. Note the Geology of Britain viewer shows rocks at the surface. Where superficial deposits are present, the bedrock geology will be concealed.

Change the Basemap

To choose between a selection of basemaps (including Bing Maps, OpenStreetMap and the 1815 William Smith geology map) click on the 'Switch Basemap' button.

Further Help

For further help Email BGS.