Publications Catalog

The Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois got its name from the lack of glacial sediment ("drift") covering the landscape. The surficial geology and topography of the Driftless Area are thus distinct from the surrounding region where multiple phases of glaciation left their mark. This pamphlet, a collaborative effort between...

The sandy uplands of the Bayfield Peninsula are primary contributors to regional groundwater recharge and provide baseflow to streams in the area. Few data exist, however, to characterize upland hydrogeology or its susceptibility to groundwater contamination. Here, data from two new cores and wells, one existing well, and a lake in the sandy uplands...

The Quaternary geologic map of Jefferson County, Wisconsin, provides details about the surficial sediment and landscapes that were formed largely in the footprint of the Laurentide Ice Sheet's southern Green Bay Lobe during the late Wisconsin Glaciation (ca. 20,000 years before present). These landscapes include lowlands underlain by glacial and...

The geologic map of the Castle Rock and Long Hollow quadrangles includes 1:24,000 scale mapping of both surficial and bedrock geology. The accompanying report presents new observations about bedrock folds and fracture sets in this portion of the Driftless Area that lies just north of the main Upper Mississippi Valley zinc-lead mineral district. The...

The Quaternary geology of Fond du Lac County consists of glacial deposits and landforms dating to the last part of the Wisconsin Glaciation (ca. 20,000 to 12,000 yr BP) and nonglacial deposits and landforms of Holocene age (11,700 yr BP to present). Glacial till and meltwater sediment were deposited by the Green Bay and Lake Michigan Lobes of the...

Columbia, Green Lake, and Marquette Counties were glaciated during the last ice age, and large areas were inundated with water from proglacial lakes and large meltwater rivers that occupied the valleys of the existing Wisconsin and Fox Rivers. These processes resulted in rolling upland hills, including drumlins punctuated by low-lying areas dominated by...

Oneida County, in northern Wisconsin, is a mostly forested area dotted with lakes and wetlands. The watery landscape is a legacy of a time when glaciers flowed across the area. Geologists Attig and Rawling mapped the Quaternary geology of the county, documenting where the glaciers paused, the sediments that were deposited, and the landforms that were...

Field trip guidebook from the International Glaciological Society Symposium on Glacial Erosion and Sedimentation, May 15, 2019.

An overview of some of the projects worked on by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey in 2018.

The authors of this open-file report scoured the literature for previous studies about the Central Sands area. This bibliography provides an overview of available research related to the hydrogeologic setting and water-budget components of the Central Sands Lakes Study (CSLS).

When viewed with 3-D glasses, Wisconsin’s land features pop off the page. Brief descriptions of major land forms paint the geologic history that shaped the state; expanded descriptions and photos are online. We’ve field-tested this map on fourth graders and can attest to its appeal. Sizes: 27.5 x 32 inches, 8.5 x 11 inches. Requires red-blue 3-D glasses.

In 2017, Survey staff worked in 69 Wisconsin counties. We mapped geology, inventoried springs, and created groundwater models. We provide natural resource managers – land and water conservationists, county boards, and water utilities – with the information they need to protect and share their resources. This publication provides a summary of some of the...

All of what is now Calumet and Manitowoc Counties was covered by ice during the last great glaciation, between 30,000 and 11,000 years ago. This bulletin explains the glacial history, interprets the deposits left behind, and portrays the distribution of the deposits on a map and cross sections. This report should be useful to planners and development...

Traces the complex glacial history of Door County. Map shows glacial units with shaded relief.

Series of 43 page-size maps showing the chronology of the last glaciation's advances and retreats across Wisconsin. Includes a brief discussion about how the maps were made, how lake positions were determined, as well as a list of selected references.

This open-file report contains a map (PDF) and GIS data (shapefiles) of the glacial and post-glacial deposits of Waupaca County in central Wisconsin.

Field trip guidebook describes the evidence suggesting that the Wisconsin River once flowed from west to east. (Prepared for the 2015 Geological Society of America North-Central Section Meeting.)

This open-file report contains a map (PDF), GIS data (shapefiles), and metadata for Columbia, Green Lake, and Marquette Counties in central Wisconsin.

Open-file report

Open-file report; contains unpublished data that has not yet been peer-reviewed.