The Mapping of New Zealand Geology—2004

This presentation consists of the New Zealand Geology map and a poster explaining various ways of making geological information available to both an academic and a public audience.

The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science has used GIS to produce a Web-accessible map of the geology of New Zealand on a national scale. The data was digitized from maps now out of print, with corrections and some reinterpretation of the ages and type of rocks. The data used in the Web map was simplified for publishing at a scale of 1:2,000,000. Producing this map also in poster form makes the basic geology of New Zealand available on paper to interested users for the first time in several years.

The Web map and the 1:2,000,000-scale map are useful to bridge a gap in communicating geological knowledge in New Zealand until the completion of a new geological mapping program called the quarter-million map (QMAP), a completely updated and revised geological dataset. One product of QMAP is a set of 21 map sheets compiled at 1:250,000 scale covering the main islands of New Zealand. Map production is entirely computer generated from the QMAP GIS database. When the QMAP program has been completed (about 2010) there will be digital geological coverage for all of New Zealand.

The map is accessible at the institute's Web site.