Results and Published Products


All Geological Survey Program publications were reviewed for relevance to the topic of oil and gas. Easy searching for those publications determined to be most relevant has been provided through the Geological Survey Program's Publications database; Instructions for searching for these publications are provided at the bottom of the web page.
Geophysical logs have been scanned to make them more accessible to industry and consultants. Approximately 6,043 geophysical logs representing 5,391 drill sites have been scanned from the files of the Geological Survey Program. Approximately 4,662 well logs representing 1,902 drill sites have been scanned from the files of the Minerals and Mining Program. These logs have been scanned into Adobe PDF and/or TIFF format. This is an ongoing activity which occurs as new logs are acquired by the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Access geophysical logs from the SDGS Interactive Data Map.
The Geological Survey Program's 110 maps of surface geology at a scale of 1:62,500 have been scanned and geo-referenced for use in Geographic Information System (GIS) format. An index map and the geo-referenced maps are available for free download from the Geological Survey Program.
Some maps prepared for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources by J.P. Gries in 1981 showing the elevation and thickness of certain geologic units are relevant to the topic of oil and gas in South Dakota. These maps have been scanned, geo-referenced, and are available online. Also, the South Dakota Geological Survey Report of Investigations 104 is relevant to the topic of oil and gas is available online. (Particularly figures 1, 5-9 and 11-14.) New digital maps of the thickness and elevation of certain geologic units that contain additional information and new interpretations are planned as part of the oil and gas initiative. The maps by J.P. Gries and the figures in Report of Investigations 104 are offered to at least partially fill an information need until the new maps containing more information and new interpretations are completed.
Several significant products resulting from the oil and gas initiative have been completed and published by the Geological Survey Program.
These (listed below), and all other, publications of the Geological Survey Program are available for free download from the Geological Survey Program web site.
Bedrock geologic map showing configuration of the bedrock surface in South Dakota east of the Missouri River:
      PDF
      GIS files
South Dakota Stratigraphic Correlation Chart:
      PDF
Cross sections showing geophysical logs of Phanerozoic rocks in South Dakota. This is a suite of 16 statewide cross sections:
      ZIP file containing pdf's of all 16 cross sections
Elevation contour map of the Precambrian surface of South Dakota:
      PDF statewide map including Black Hills inset and Sioux Ridge inset
      Test hole and well information spreadsheet
      GIS files
Precambrian basement terrane of South Dakota:
      PDF report and map
      GIS files
Geologic maps of 1° x 2° quadrangles:
      Lemmon:   PDF map     GIS files
      Martin:   PDF map     GIS files
      McIntosh:   PDF map     GIS files
      Rapid City:   PDF map     GIS files
The complete oil and gas permit files have been organized and scanned into PDF format:
Geophysical logs contained in these files have been scanned into TIFF format.
The files, including the geophysical logs, are available through the SDGS Interactive Data Map
SDGS Interactive Data Map has been made available online for browsing and acquiring information relevant to oil and gas resources in South Dakota.