Colorado

Summary

Since 1992, the Colorado Geological Survey (CGS) has partnered with the USGS STATEMAP, Earth MRI, and NGGDPP programs to deliver modern geologic maps and critical mineral data across the state. These products directly support water planning, mineral and energy development, hazard mitigation, and infrastructure design, while also training the next generation of geoscientists, preserving irreplaceable data, and strengthening industry partnerships.

STATEMAP

Since joining the program in 1992, STATEMAP has supported:

  • 150+ quadrangle maps, covering 9,000+ square miles across 25 counties.
  • 8 county-wide hydrogeologic maps, including Pitkin, Douglas, Mesa, La Plata, Elbert, and Chaffee Counties, with Morgan and El Paso nearing completion.
  • 11 counties of detailed alluvial fan maps (with the Colorado Water Conservation Board), with additional counties underway.
  • 86 quadrangles of mineral resource derivative maps, supporting aggregate, industrial mineral, and energy planning.
  • The Groundwater Atlas of Colorado, a statewide synthesis of aquifer data built from STATEMAP quadrangles.

Workforce & local economic support:

  • STATEMAP funding allows CGS to hire students each summer to assist with field mapping, sampling, and GIS work — providing hands-on training and workforce development for Colorado students.
  • Projects also support local Colorado businesses through contracts for equipment, logistics, and specialized services, strengthening local economies while accelerating project completion.

Applications:

  • Groundwater management and drought resilience.
  • Landslide and debris-flow hazard mapping (e.g., $75M in losses in Colorado Springs).
  • Post-wildfire hazard assessments (e.g., La Plata County debris flow map).
  • Infrastructure planning for transportation, utilities, and reservoirs.
  • Mineral and aggregate resource development (e.g., Garfield County sand and gravel resource map).
  • Waste facility siting, earthquake hazard assessments, and aquifer protection.

Earth MRI

Colorado is currently home to five major Earth MRI projects, strategically focused on critical mineral systems in the Wet Mountains, La Plata Mountains, Paradox Basin, and Colorado Mineral Belt. These projects place Colorado at the forefront of national efforts to secure domestic supply chains for critical minerals.

Key Achievements:

  • Expanded Mapping Coverage
    • Nearly 1,000 square miles of new 1:24,000-scale mapping delivered in priority mineral belts.
    • High-resolution airborne geophysics completed over 2,200 mi² at the Colorado–Wyoming border and 4,340 mi² across the Colorado Mineral Belt, with additional surveys underway.
  • Critical Mineral Assessments
    • Wet Mountains & La Plata Mountains: Mapping and sampling revealed new targets for rare earth elements, vanadium, lithium, and associated critical minerals.
    • Paradox Basin: Reanalysis of historic National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) samples with modern techniques is producing an invaluable regional geochemical dataset.
    • Colorado Mineral Belt: Sampling of perpetual mine effluent and historic mine waste piles is testing national protocols for evaluating critical minerals in mine waste — Colorado was one of only four states chosen to lead this effort.
  • Industry & University Collaboration
    • Partnering with Colorado universities to engage faculty and train undergraduate and graduate students through fieldwork, geochemistry, and geophysical interpretation.
    • Industry partnerships with exploration and milling companies (e.g., Metallic Minerals Corp., CJK Milling) are applying Colorado data directly to exploration and reprocessing of mine waste.
  • Workforce & Research Development
    • Earth MRI funds have supported student theses, dissertations, and peer-reviewed publications.
    • Students are using Earth MRI geophysical datasets to remap faults, structures, and mineralization systems, contributing to new insights on mineral formation and geologic history.
  • Funding & Investment
    • Colorado has received over $1 million in Earth MRI funding, matched with state resources to expand technical staff capacity and student opportunities.
    • These funds directly support research, exploration, and workforce training aligned with Colorado’s economic and national priorities.
  • Public Engagement
    • CGS staff regularly present results to the public through community meetings, press releases, social media, and news coverage, increasing awareness of the nation’s domestic mineral needs.

NGGDPP (Data Preservation)

Colorado’s participation in the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) has safeguarded irreplaceable mineral, hazard, and subsurface data while modernizing access for researchers, planners, and industry.

Key Achievements:

  • Preserving Critical Mineral Data
    • Digitized historic gold deposit maps and exploration reports (1960s–1990s), making valuable data on zinc, tellurium, tungsten, and molybdenum accessible to the public and industry.
    • Converted county geologic maps for Douglas, Chaffee, and Park Counties into USGS GeMS Level 2 format, ensuring integration with STATEMAP, Earth MRI, and USGS GeoFrameworks.
  • Expanding Hazard & Development Data Access
    • Captured and digitized 7,500+ geologic hazard and geotechnical reports (1972–present) from land-use evaluations, with thousands more in progress.
    • Provides local governments, planners, and homeowners with direct access to site-specific hazard data once locked in archives — critical for infrastructure planning, hazard mitigation, and safe community growth.
  • Core Preservation & Energy Security
    • Preserved 10,000 feet of Colorado and regional core from private industry — slabbed, boxed, scanned, and photographed.
    • Digital images and metadata now support groundwater management, carbon sequestration studies, critical minerals and, induced seismicity research.
    • Publicly available at https://cores.coloradogeologicalsurvey.org/.
  • National Contributions
    • Partnered with USGS Earth MRI to refine Colorado’s critical mineral focus areas, which host most minerals on the national critical list.
    • Contributed datasets and expertise at national Critical Minerals Workshops, ensuring Colorado’s data informs U.S. supply-chain resilience and reduces reliance on imports.

Impact for Colorado:

  • STATEMAP: Delivered 9,000+ mi² of detailed geologic maps, produced the Groundwater Atlas, compiled county-wide hydrogeologic maps (Pitkin, Douglas, Mesa, La Plata, Elbert, Chaffee; Morgan and El Paso in progress), advanced alluvial fan hazard mapping across 11 counties, and created 86 quadrangles of mineral resource maps, while training students and supporting Colorado businesses.
  • Earth MRI: Positioned Colorado as a national leader in critical mineral research, with more than $1M in funding, extensive geophysical coverage, strong industry partnerships, and robust collaboration with universities and students.
  • NGGDPP: Preserved thousands of historic reports, maps, and cores; digitized hazard and mineral datasets; and provided modern, open access to data essential for groundwater management, hazard mitigation, energy security, and critical mineral exploration.