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Photo: Panorama looking southeast over the North Shore, Vancouver city, and the Lower Fraser Valley. The Cascades Mountains and Mt. Baker form the skyline and southern margin of the Fraser Valley.
(B.J. Groulx)
What is GeoMap?
Geo: Earth (from Greek geo - Earth); as in geology, the science of the solid Earth
Map: A visual display of spatial data
GeoMap Vancouver is a geological map of the Vancouver metropolitan area. This area is underlain by diverse geological materials with different physical properties. The purpose of GeoMap Vancouver is to show the surface distribution of these materials and to summarize material characteristics that are relevant to engineering, the environment, and land-use planning. Such characteristics include bearing capacity for structures, landslide potential, liquefaction susceptibility, drainage, flood hazard, and contained resources such as groundwater, aggregate, and building stone. The legend and central map show the nature and distribution of the different geological materials. The smaller thematic maps focus on particular attributes and hazards.
The Physiography of GeoMap
The physiography of GeoMap is the surface form of the Earth. The Vancouver region includes three main physiographic areas. Mountain areas (Coast and Cascade Mountains) comprise rugged bedrock ridges and peaks and intervening steep-walled valleys. The larger valleys contain thick modern and Ice Age sediments and also host large lakes and streams. The other two physiographic areas are within the Fraser Valley. Higher parts of the Fraser Valley are gently rolling uplands, ranging from about 15 m to 250 m above sea level. Uplands are underlain by thick Ice Age sediments, largely of glacial origin. Flat lowlands occur along the Fraser River and its tributaries and are underlain by modern sediments.
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