Authors should consider several things before starting to compile a geological map or write a report:

• Which geological time scale should be used?
  
• Are there sufficient geographic names appearing on the map area covered?
  
• Do new geographic names have to be proposed?
  
• Are the stratigraphic and/or lithological units being described referred to formally or informally?
  
• Is it necessary to formally propose and define new stratigraphic names?
  
• Has permission been obtained to use and/or modify copyright material such as any illustrations and other material that is published by another author, ensuring that the GSC and federal government are protected from possible litigation procedures? A copy of the written authorization (Copyright Permission Request Form; PUB 3004) must accompany the manuscript
  
• Have the photographs in the report been catalogued with the Photo Library? A Cataloguing Form for a Photograph Series in a GSC Publication (PUB 3013) must be filled out in the ESSPPI system (accessible to ESS employees only), as well as forms for Cataloguing Individual Photographs In a Series (PUB 3014). The forms must then be printed out and submitted to the Photo Library along with the photos. (Go to Forms page to view sample forms).
  

Geological time scales

The GSC, as an organization, does not possess or maintain a particular position regarding geological concepts, and this also applies to geological time scales (see 'Critical review of manuscripts'). Several GSC scientists have proposed time scales for various epochs that are particularly applicable to Canada, but there has been no consensus on their use.

Geographic names

In a bilingual country like Canada, questions arise regarding the official use of toponyms, or geographic names, and their translation. The names on our official, federal government maps have been authorized through the Geographical Names Board of Canada.

Geographic names shown on maps are not to be translated and are to be spelled according to their official form shown in the Gazetteer of Canada, the Répertoire toponymique du Québec, and the Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names, or on the Internet at this URL: http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca. Names of pan-Canadian or historical significance (listed below) have both official English and French spellings. On the other hand, certain names are spelled exactly the same in both English and French, for example, one will write 'Montréal, Quebec' on an English map, and 'Montréal, Québec' on the French version, or, 'St. John's, Newfoundland' in English, and 'St. John's, Terre-Neuve' in French. Note that Quebec (the province — a name of pan-Canadian significance) is written in English without the accent, whereas Québec (the city) keeps the accent.

In reports, geographic names are to be spelled according to their official form (see sources listed above).

The names of populated places (cities, towns, etc.) are written according to official spellings as for maps and are not translated. For physical features, the generic is translated, but never the specific term. The generic terms, such as lake, river, valley, mountain, island, pond, bay, point, hill, describe the nature of the entity. The specific term is the particular name applied to the location or geographic feature, for example Saguenay (River), St. Elias (Mountain), Wager (Bay).

In the English text, for example, the names of the following geographic features and locations are written as follows:

• Lake Saint-Jean (for lac Saint-Jean)
  
  
• Lake Trois Rivières (for lac Trois Rivières)
  
  
• Saint-Jovite
  
  
• Sarrazin Beach (for plage Sarrazin)
  
  
• Trois-Rivières.
  

Names of pan-Canadian significance

Abitibi, Lake / lac Abitibi
Anticosti Island / île d'Anticosti
Appalachian Mountains / les Appalaches
Arctic Ocean / océan Arctique
Athabasca, Lake / lac Athabasca
Athabasca River / rivière Athabasca
Atlantic Ocean / océan Atlantique

Baffin Bay / baie de Baffin
Baffin Island /île de Baffin
Beaufort Sea / mer de Beaufort
Belle Isle, Strait of / détroit de Belle Isle
British Columbia / Colombie-Britannique

Cabot Strait / détroit de Cabot
Cape Breton Island / île du Cap-Breton
Chaleur Bay / baie des Chaleurs
Champlain, Lake / lac Champlain
Churchill River, Man. / rivière Churchill (Man.)
Churchill River, Nfld. / fleuve Churchill (T.-N.)
Coast Mountains / chaîne Côtière
Columbia River / fleuve Columbia

Davis Strait / détroit de Davis

Ellesmere Island / île d'Ellesmere
Erie, Lake / lac érié

*Franklin, District of / district de Franklin
Fraser River / fleuve Fraser
Fundy, Bay of / baie de Fundy

Georgian Bay / baie Georgienne
Great Bear Lake / Grand lac de l'Ours
Great Slave Lake / Grand lac des Esclaves

Hudson Bay / baie d'Hudson
Hudson Strait / détroit d'Hudson
Huron, Lake / lac Huron

James Bay / baie James

*Keewatin, District of / district de Keewatin

Labrador Sea / mer du Labrador
Laurentian Mountains / les Laurentides

*Mackenzie, District of / district de Mackenzie
Mackenzie River / fleuve Mackenzie
Manitoba, Lake / lac Manitoba
Michigan, Lake / lac Michigan (not in Canada)

Nelson River / fleuve Nelson
New Brunswick / Nouveau-Brunswick
Newfoundland / Terre-Neuve
Niagara Falls / chutes Niagara
Nipigon, Lake / lac Nipigon
Nipissing, Lake / lac Nipissing
North Saskatchewan River / rivière Saskatchewan Nord
Northumberland Strait / détroit de Northumberland
Northwest Territories / Territoires du Nord-Ouest
Nova Scotia / Nouvelle-écosse

Ontario, Lake / lac Ontario
Ottawa River / rivière des Outaouais

Pacific Ocean / océan Pacifique
Peace River / rivière de la Paix
Prince Edward Island / île-du-Prince-édouard

Quebec / Québec (province)
Queen Charlotte Islands / îles de la Reine-Charlotte
Queen Elizabeth Islands / îles de la Reine-élisabeth

Rainy Lake / lac à la Pluie
Rainy River / rivière à la Pluie
Red River / rivière Rouge
Restigouche River / rivière Ristigouche
Rocky Mountains / montagnes Rocheuses

Sable Island / île de Sable
Saguenay River / rivière Saguenay
St. Clair, Lake / lac Sainte-Claire
Saint John River / rivière Saint-Jean
St. Lawrence, Gulf of / golfe du Saint-Laurent
St. Lawrence River / fleuve Saint-Laurent
Saskatchewan River / rivière Saskatchewan
South Saskatchewan River / rivière Saskatchewan Sud
Superior, Lake / lac Supérieur

Timiskaming, Lake / lac Témiscamingue

Ungava Bay / baie d'Ungava

Vancouver Island / île de Vancouver

Winnipeg, Lake / lac Winnipeg
Winnipegosis, Lake / lac Winnipegosis
Winnipeg River / rivière Winnipeg
Woods, Lake of the / lac des Bois

Yukon River / fleuve Yukon
Yukon Territory / Territoire du Yukon.

*As of April 1, 1999, these names will not be used on federal maps and in federal texts of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

New geographic names

Few geographic names appear on many topographic maps of remote areas of Canada. This causes a problem for geologists who commonly propose new geographic names to facilitate their description of a map area and also to enable them to formally name particular lithological units or structural features.

All new geographic names must be approved by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.

The Board advises individuals contemplating a publication containing geographic names that are not yet official to submit proposals well in advance of publication dates, as the consideration and approval of new names may require considerable time. The publication of unofficial names will not necessarily result in their official recognition.

New proposals should be for particular geographic features, and should contain the following information:

• reason for the proposal;
  
  
• location by latitude and longitude, either as geographic co-ordinates or Universal Transverse Mercator grid co-ordinates;
  
  
• identification on a map indicating the precise extent;
  
  
• photographs or sketches;
  
  
• origin and meaning of the name proposed.

Formal and informal stratigraphic units

Before describing named stratigraphic units in a report, the author should clearly state whether they are formal or informal geological units.

The name of a formal geological unit is compound, consisting of a geographic name (e.g. Espanola, Ramsay Lake) combined with an appropriate rank term (e.g. Formation, Member, Bed) or descriptive terms (e.g. Sandstone, Marble, Granite). The first letters of all words in formal geological units are capitalized. Cameron Brook Formation and Typhoon Peak Formation are respectively formal greywacke and slate formations of the Ramah Group, defined according to the North American Stratigraphic Code.

Informal geological units may also be compound, combining a geographic name with a rank or descriptive term, but in such cases first letters of rank and descriptive terms are not capitalized (Bear's Gut anorthosite).

In the GSC style of writing, however, uncertainty could arise when referring to more than one formation collectively because, in such a case, the 'f' in formations is not capitalized. Thus, one would write 'the Cameron Brook and Typhoon Peak formations' instead of 'the Cameron Brook Formation and Typhoon Peak Formation', which could lead to confusion unless it has been previously stated that they are formal units (see 'Spelling, usage, and GSC recommendations').

New stratigraphic names

New stratigraphic names must be cleared with the Paleontological Unit of the GSC in Ottawa to avoid duplication. Names must conform to the principles outlined in the 'North American Stratigraphic Code' of the North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature.

The requirements for formally naming new geological units in a report include the following:

- intent to designate or modify a formal unit;

- designation of category and rank of unit;

- selection and derivation of name;

- specification of type locality, type or reference sections, or area, shown on a geological map;

- description of unit;

- definition of boundaries;

- historical background;

- dimensions, shape, and other regional aspects;

- geological age;

- correlations;

- genesis (where applicable).