The Division of Geology and Earth Resources (DGER), Washington State Department of Natural Resources, announced that its recently published map titled Geologic Map of Washington State won both Best Map of 2005 and Best Geologic Map in the Avenza 2005 MAPublisher Map Competition. This competition draws entries from all over the globe, and DGER was proud to have its map selected as the overall winner.

The Geologic Map of Washington State is the first new 1:500,000-scale geologic map of Washington published since 1961. It was compiled over many years by geologist and GIS specialist J. Eric Schuster from geologic mapping produced by DGER and other geologists. Geologist-Editor Jaretta M. Roloff was responsible for the final details of design and layout.

A spokesperson for Avenza says, "We received many entries in various categories. The judging process was extremely difficult because of the high quality of maps we received from MAPublisher users throughout the world." All winning submissions, as well as notable entries in each category, are posted on the Avenza Web site (www.avenza.com/MPcomp/2005).

The map also won first place in the environmental category at the Esri Northwest GIS Users Conference in September 2005. The environmental category was the largest category and contained many beautiful maps.

The map was compiled from the previously published 1:250,000-scale geologic quadrant maps of Washington. The level of detail was simplified by deleting small polygons and combining the 1:250,000-scale units into units that have broader lithologic and age ranges. In the Key to Geologic Units, small index maps of the state of Washington accompany each unit symbol and brief unit description. These index maps show the color of the map unit, as well as its distribution.

To prepare the map, digital versions of the 1:250,000-scale quadrant maps were merged and simplified in ArcInfo, and the plate was then laid out using Avenza MAPublisher and Adobe Illustrator. Specifically, the map was created in ArcInfo Workstation using ARC Macro Language (AML), geoprocessing, data editing, projection tools, spatial modeling, and map production. ArcInfo 9.1 was used for data creation and import/export, data management, projection engine, geoprocessing (analyst tools, conversion tools, data management tools, and spatial analyst tools), advanced data editing and attribute tables, label engine, layer files, page layout, and exporting.

The Geologic Map of Washington State is a 55.5- by 36-inch full-color map and comes with a 44-page pamphlet. It may be purchased flat or folded. The flat map is printed on heavy, coated white stock and is suitable for framing. The folded map comes with an envelope for storage. The map may be ordered from the Washington State Department of Printing at www.prt.wa.gov or viewed and downloaded from www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pdf/gm53.zip.

For more information, contact J. Eric Schuster, geologist and GIS specialist, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (tel.: 360-902-1451, e-mail: eric.schuster@wadnr.gov), or Anne Heinitz, spatial data analyst, Editing/GIS Section, Division of Geology and Earth Resources, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (tel.: 360-902-1445, e-mail: anne.heinitz@wadnr.gov).