Abstract: GEONAMES and GNULEX--Databases of the Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the United States

Scott W. Starratt, J. R. Le Compte

For more than eighty years, the U.S. Geological Survey has maintained a file of the stratigraphic nomenclature of the United States and its possessions. The computerization of this information has been in progress for at least 20 years. This information has recently been released in CD-ROM format.

Two databases have been produced. GEONAMES is an abridged database of all of the stratigraphic units in the U.S. and its possessions. Information on each unit includes the unit name (Monterey), the rank (Formation, Shale, Group), the age (Miocene), and the State in which the unit is located (CA). Additional information may include the lithology and the basin in which the unit is located. Multiple entries in each category under the unit name are possible. Searches may be made using any of these categories.

In addition to the information contained in GEONAMES, the GNULEX database contains more detailed information including location of type (area, locality, section), principal reference (area, locality, section), geologic province, unit thickness, stratigraphic relations (with overlying and underlying units), and method of unit age determination (isotopic or biostratigraphic). The chief drawback to the GNULEX database is that it is incomplete. At present, only about one-third of the units currently named in the western U.S. have been included in it. Progress toward the completion of this database is hampered by insufficient resources for this time- and manpower-intensive project.

Both these databases have been incorporated as part of the Digital Data Series (DDS-6). The minimum system requirements to use these databases with the software provided on the CD-ROM are as follows: IBM or compatible computer, 640 kb RAM, DOS version 4.01 or later, CD-ROM drive with ISO 9660 software driver, Microsoft MSCDEX version 2.1 or later, hard disk drive, and EGA/VGA color system.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90958©1995 AAPG Pacific Section Meeting, San Francisco, California