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MCCRAW, David J., JONES, Glen E., and BAUER, Paul W. New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801 djmc@nmt.edu

To provide the public with prompt releases of new geologic and hydrologic map information (primarily STATEMAP quads funded by the NCGMP), the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) has developed a new series of open-file digital geologic quadrangle maps (OF-DM). The maps are designed to address compelling socioeconomic issues (water supply and quality, geologic hazards, land-use planning, mineral resources) and basic scientific problems. The geologic maps will be available in 3 formats:

1. Multicolor inkjet plots complete with cross sections, unit descriptions, and correlation charts
2. A collection of ARC-INFO coverages for GIS users
3. Digital Postscript files of OF-DM plots.

After the geology is compiled in ink on a greenline mylar stable base, it is scanned at 100% at 400 d.p.i. on an INTERGRAPH ANATECH large-format drum scanner that drops out the greenline base map while holding all inked geologic linework (contacts, structures, and symbology). Geo-referencing tick marks are generated in ARC-INFO and then exported as an Adobe Illustrator file along with a TIFF image of the map to Macintosh Macromedia FreeHand, where the linework is drafted, unit polygons are assigned CMYK colors, and type is set. This process essentially eliminates introduced digitizer-operator error, and produces smaller digital files that contain lines with smooth curves made from a minimum number of points (nodes) and type of offset-printing quality. The drafted linework is then exported as individual layers for all individual line attributes as DXF files to ARC-INFO, where they are converted into ARC coverages for GIS users. The completed geologic map FreeHand file is then registered to a TIFF DRG quadrangle base (which has been cleaned in Adobe Photoshop and turned transparent in FreeHand) and is exported as a Postscript file to Image Alchemy, which rasterizes the file for inkjet plotting on demand.

By producing these OF-DM maps through the combined interaction of NMBGMR's Macintosh-based cartography and ARC-INFO-based GIS sections, the public is provided paper and digital products of a superior quality to those developed solely from these individual platforms. In addition, this process has increased NMBGMR's cartographic production efficiency, and map upgrades to the peer-reviewed Geologic Map (GM) series, printed by offset press, can then be easily made.

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Revised: 12 May, 2008

© 2007 - 2008 NMBGMR
or as specified

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Copyright © 2007 - 2008 New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources unless otherwise specified.