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Citation of the map:

Gómez, J. & Montes, N.E., compilers. 2020. Geological Map of Colombia 2020. Scale 1:1 000 000. Servicio Geológico Colombiano, 2 sheets. Bogotá.

Abstract

The Geological Map of Colombia Group is attached to the Directorate of Basic Geosciences of the Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC). Its aim is to perform periodic and updated versions of the national geological map with the available geological information. The first edition of this map was published in 2007; the second, in 2015; and this, the third, is released in 2020.

This third edition of the Geological Map of Colombia (GMC) was updated with the geological maps of the following sheets published by the SGC at a scale of 1:100 000: 41, 42, 46, 53, 54, 56, 57, 63, 67, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78, 81, 83, 84, 87, 88, 91, 92, 94, 95, 107, 118, 122, 123, 138, 141, 142, 154, 158, 173, 174, 177, 178, 197, 198, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 220BIS, 229, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 239BIS, 256, 257, 258, 258BIS, 275, 276, 277, 277BIS, 284, 285, 298, 299, 304, 305, 309, 318, 319, 320, 324, 325, 327, 329, 330, 340, 341, 342, 346, 347, 348, 349, 351, 362, 363, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 385, 391, 392, 393, 394, 409, 413, 415, 416, 417, 418, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 466–481, 467–482, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 483, 484–495, 485, 486, 496, 497, 498, 499, 508, 509, and 510. It is worth noting that the map was updated with the data of around 400 papers published in peer–review journals from October 2014 until December 2019 and the chapters that make up the four volumes of The Geology of Colombia multivolume book.

The units represented on the map are chronostratigraphic and were grouped according to age and lithology. For the age, the International Chronostratigraphic Chart 2020 was used as a reference and for the lithological division, rocks and deposits were differentiated. The rocks were represented in accordance with their principal types into igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary with volcaniclastic rocks as a separate type. The deposits were subdivided according to the type of deposit into paludal, alluvium, volcanoclastic, glacial, terrace, alluvial fan, pyroclastic, dune, and swamp. Igneous rocks were classified by the environment of formation into volcanic, hypabyssal, and plutonic and according to their composition into ultramafic, mafic, intermediate, and felsic. Metamorphic rocks were separated by their grade of metamorphism into very low, low, medium, and high grade; also, the high–pressure ones and, by their economic importance, the marbles were differentiated. The sedimentary and volcanoclastic rocks were grouped consistent with the main environment of accumulation. The former were classified as continental, transitional, continental–transitional, continental–transitional–marine, transitional–marine, and marine; while the latter were classified into continental, continental–transitional, and marine.

The GMC 2020 was carried out at a scale of 1:1 000 000 from the generalization in ArcGIS 10.6 of the Geological Atlas of Colombia 2020 at a scale of 1:500 000. The chronostratigraphic units, faults, and folds were adjusted with the shaded relief image of Colombia produced at a scale of 1:100 000 and created for this purpose.

The GMC 2020 consists of two sheets. The former being the map and the second the map legend. The first one, which contains the geological map as its main element, includes the islands of Colombia that, due to the distance that separates them from the mainland and their small size, are displayed as insets at a scale of 1:100 000. Furthermore, this sheet displays the insets of the sketch of Tectonic Framework of Northwestern South America and the Caribbean; Localization Map of Colombia in South America; Physiographic Map of Colombia, showing the main physiographic features and the location of geographic sites frequently quoted in geological studies; Recommended citation; Cartographical sources of the base map; Abstract, Geological conventions; Quaternary volcanoes of Colombia; Lithological pattern chart, and corporate credits and author listing.

The GMC 2020 includes the layers of chronostratigraphic units, faults, folds, volcanoes, and tectonics. The users can consult the map in different formats: GIS (File Geodatabase, MXD, style), PDF, and TIFF.