Structural Measurement Atlas
Atlas / States / Colorado

Colorado strike and dip data

52,726 structural measurements in Colorado, digitized from 401 published geologic maps across 5 sources. Every row carries its azimuth, inclination, measurement type, location confidence and the citation of the map it came from.

Open Colorado on the map

What kinds of measurement

The Atlas separates planar structures, recorded as a strike and dip, from linear ones, recorded as a trend and plunge. This is what Colorado holds:

Measurement typeGeometryMeasurementsShare
Foliation Planar — strike and dip 31,67960%
Lineation (mineral, stretching) Linear — trend and plunge 6,82913%
Bedding Planar — strike and dip 6,18212%
Other Planar — strike and dip 3,0626%
Joint Planar — strike and dip 2,1584%
Fold hinge / axis Linear — trend and plunge 9472%
Vein / dike Planar — strike and dip 8202%
Cleavage Planar — strike and dip 6571%
Fault plane Planar — strike and dip 375<1%
Slickenline Linear — trend and plunge 17<1%

Where the data comes from

Each source is a survey, agency or program whose published mapping was harvested and reconciled into one schema. Rows are published only where the source's terms permit redistribution.

SourceMeasurementsShare
USGS data releases · MRDS 26,66551%
NPS GRI parks 11,01821%
USGS NGMDB GeMS 8,47416%
NGMDB legacy quads 6,56812%
Wyoming WSGS 1<1%

Most-measured published maps

The individual quadrangles and data releases contributing the most measurements in Colorado. The full citation for every map behind a selection ships in the sources.csv of any export.

Published mapYearScaleMeasurements
Snyder, G.L., 1980, Geologic map of the northernmost Park Range and southernmost Sierra Madre, Jackson and Routt Counties, Colorado; U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1113, scale 1:48,000.2026 1:48,0004,284
Snyder, G.L., 1980, Geologic map of the central part of the northern Park Range, Jackson and Routt Counties, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1112, scale 1:48,000.2025 1:48,0002,510
Central City — https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_722.htm2019 —2,465
RMNP1 — https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/10389612019 —2,404
Geologic map of the central San Juan caldera cluster, southwestern Colorado2006 1:50,0002,123
Black Hawk — https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_10784.htm2019 —2,042
Squaw Pass — https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_10872.htm2019 —1,952
Evergreen — https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_7860.htm2019 —1,933
adapted from: Hedlund, D.C., 1974, Geologic Map of the Big Mesa Quadrangle, Gunnison County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Geological Quadrangle Map GQ-1153, scale 1:24,0002023 240001,747
adapted from: Hansen, W.R., 1971, Geologic Map of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River and Vicinity, Western Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-584, scale 1:24,0002023 316801,717
Empire — https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_4944.htm2019 —1,649
Gold Hill — https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_1073.htm2019 —1,509
Drake — https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_2131.htm2019 —1,426
Ralston Buttes — https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp5202019 —1,355
adapted from: Hedlund, D.C., and Olson, J.C., 1975, Geologic Map of the Powderhorn Quadrangle, Gunnison and Saguache Counties, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Geological Quadrangle Map GQ-1178, scale 1:24,0002023 240001,305

Most-measured map units

Where a source recorded the geologic unit a measurement was taken on, the Atlas keeps it. These are the units carrying the most measurements in Colorado.

Map unitAgeLithologyMeasurements
Biotite gneiss (Precambrian) gnb ——2,554
Felsic gneiss through amphibolite metavolcanics Xgn Precambrian XMetamorphic rock2,348
Biotite schist (Early Proterozoic) Xs ——1,635
Interbedded quartzofeldspathic schist and gneiss (Precambrian) qms ——1,369
Felsic gneiss to amphibolite metavolcanics Xgn Precambrian X (Paleoproterozoic)Meta-felsic and intermediate rock1,154
Boulder Creek Granodiorite (Precambrian) bc ——1,035
Silver Plume Granite (Middle Proterozoic) Ysp ——960
Boulder Creek Granodiorite (Precambrian) gd ——895
Quartz monzonite Xsl Precambrian XIgneous and metamorphic rock833
Knotted mica schist (Early Proterozoic) Xks ——782
Biotite gneiss (Precambrian X) Xb ——752
Microcline-quartz-plagioclase-biotite gneiss (Precambrian) gnm ——717

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