Recent advances in computer graphics and the increased speed of computer workstations have made it possible to plot many types of maps simultaneously on a computer screen at a resolution approaching that of the printed map. This enables cartographers to produce new types of maps and revise existing maps more quickly. This also has created a need for archiving geological maps in a universal computer readable form. This document outlines the structure and procedures used to produce and archive geological maps by the Cartography section.

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The specifications in this document will serve several purposes:

1. Maps will be available to the earth science community in digital format with a consistent database which researchers will be able to use effectively.
2. Maps will be in a revisable format that will allow cartographers and geologists to update information, integrate information from adjoining maps, and generalize geology without having to recompile the entire map.
3. Maps in progress will be easily transferred from one cartographer to another because of the consistent naming convention and structure.
4. The digital maps will be archived on a host computer and a query system will be developed to allow users within the GSC to browse through the maps on their UNIX, PC, or Macintosh computers over the network.

In summary, the Cartography section's goal is to produce geological maps using the same naming convention and structure for covers and items. This has the following advantages:

• Appending adjoining maps can be done in much less time and with less trouble
• Transferring a job in progress to another cartographer can be done without the original cartographer's assistance
• By presence of certain covers in a workspace, anyone can know exactly what is on the map without seeing the hardcopy
• Universal editing and plotting AMLs can be created to increase speed of production
• Universal archiving programs can be developed more easily
• Standards for author's data submissions can be developed, so cartographers get cleaner original files and in turn produce the map at a faster rate

Not all maps will fit into this structure immediately. Some special situations will occur along the way and will be dealt with when they happen. All efforts have been made to try and think of as many map differences as possible, but undoubtedly some have been missed. Most maps will fit this structure and it will be insisted that they are in this format at the end of production, otherwise work will have been created because they will have to be converted to match standards.

It may be a good idea to get into the habit of producing maps in this format from the beginning. It is not very different from the way things are being done now, just a few twists in some procedures. The biggest difference will be in the cover content, cover names, and item names.

 2 WORKSPACE
 4 COVERS
 5 LEGENDS
 6 LANGUAGE
 7 PROJECTION
 8 METADATA
 9 EXTERNAL TABLES
10 SYMBOLSETS
11 OTHER WORKSPACE FILES
	PDF folder
	Raster and Grid overlays
	Final Postscripts
	Plotting AML and Menu
	Author folder
	Separates folder
12 JOBFILE
	Readme file
	History file
	Email folder
	Filter report
	Abstract file
14 SURROUND
	Descriptive notes & References
	Credit notes
	Copiesof note
	Legend
	Figures and Insets
	Logos
16 WAREHOUSE
	Procedure
	Prepare Map for Data Warehouse routine
	Dataset ID
	Zip file
18 DIGITAL RELEASE
19 BAS COVER
21 BAP COVER
23 HYD COVER
27 GEO COVER
32 LIN COVER
35 GEP COVER
38 PNT COVER
42 LEGEND INFO FILE
45 LEVEL INFO FILE
47 EXTERNAL TABLE INFO FILE
48 SYMBOL INFO FILE
50 BOR COVER
52 NTL COVER
53 NTS COVER
53 MSC COVER
55 MSP COVER
56 TXT COVER
58 APPENDIX OF CHANGES