The Geoheritage Sites of the Nation project has been established with the ultimate goal of developing a nationwide geoheritage GIS layer to accompany the 2D and 3D layers of the USGI. Through identification of the societal and educational values of significant geologic features, the USGS can provide relevant, inclusive, and accessible data for formal and informal educational opportunities at all levels to the broader public. By developing standardized selection criteria of geoheritage entities and a beta attribute schema, the Geoheritage Sites of the Nation Project hopes to seed the routine use of a methodology for the inclusion of geoheritage information into the USGI structured in ways that make USGS geologic data products even more [...]
Summary
The Geoheritage Sites of the Nation project has been established with the ultimate goal of developing a nationwide geoheritage GIS layer to accompany the 2D and 3D layers of the USGI. Through identification of the societal and educational values of significant geologic features, the USGS can provide relevant, inclusive, and accessible data for formal and informal educational opportunities at all levels to the broader public. By developing standardized selection criteria of geoheritage entities and a beta attribute schema, the Geoheritage Sites of the Nation Project hopes to seed the routine use of a methodology for the inclusion of geoheritage information into the USGI structured in ways that make USGS geologic data products even more relevant to researchers, students, and the general public. By providing a user-friendly geospatial product that links the scientific values to the societal values of geologically significant sites, the USGS can raise public awareness of these areas and communicate the role of geology in our national heritage and sense of place.
