WORLD GEOLOGICAL MAP | BRGM geological map

geological map

This new edition (August 2014) reconsiders the 3rd edition of the Geological Map of the Word, published initially in 2010 at the scales of 1:25 000 000 (3 sheets) and 1:50 000 000 (1 sheet Geology, structure), both presently out of print.

The layout of this new version, centered on the Atlantic, was redesigned in order to fit a single sheet, while the legibility was improved in relation to the reduced version at 1:50 000 000.

As concerns the contents, the new map amends some infographic typos of the 2010 edition and, most important, enhances the existing geological data by the addition of a monochrome shaded physiographic base, more attenuate in the continents than in the oceans. As it was the case for the 2010 edition, it integrates the state of the art of the geological knowledge of our planet at the turning-point of the XX/XXI centuries. Some changes were done, however, as concerns the color of a number of geological units of major interest such as: Cenozoic volcanism; traps; oceanic plateaus, hotspot tracks and seamounts. Likewise, the representation of thrusts fronts of all kinds (subduction zones, accretionary prisms, thrusts, …) was homogenized.

The Physiography, volcanos and astroblemes sheet of the 2010 edition at 1:50 000 000 is always available and constitutes a useful supplement of this new map for three reasons:  1) it displays a complete and detailed physiography of the World, including isobaths every 1000 m; 2) as it is centered on the Pacific, it gives an overview of the entirety of this ocean where are located the majority of the subduction zones and hotspots of the planet; 3) the active volcanoes plotted in this maps allow establishing a relationship between volcanism and the subduction zones.

Here are some of the main geological units and features of the map:

• limit between continental crust/oceanic crust
• major continental faults and oceanic fracture zones; axes of oceanic accretion; subduction zones; sedimentary accretionary prisms
• morphostructures of the seafloor (seamounts, hotspot tracks,…)
• representation of the continental platform (< 200 m)
• subdivision of the Proterozoic in 3 eras
• discrimination of "Large Igneous Provinces" (LIP) since the end of the Paleozoïc (continental traps, "oceanic plateaus") with indication of mean age of the major volcanic episode
• representation of 45 "hotspots"
• crustal deformation zones (diffuse boundary) between some plates
• distribution of Meso-Cenozoic ophiolites, etc.

The map includes two legends, one for the onshore areas and another for the offshore, and an inset with data on the 45 "hotspots".