Offshore Quaternary 250k UK

This Offshore Quaternary dataset shows the distribution of interpreted lithostratigraphic units within the shallow subsurface. Large areas of the UK offshore are covered, at a scale of 1:250 000. This dataset was originally published between 1984 and 1992, as a series of paper map sheets. This is the first time that the Quaternary Geology 1:250 000 maps have been made available in digital format. Information from the original map sheets have been included in the attribute fields in this dataset, including a lithological description for each formation. Additional data has also been provided where it was deemed to add value. The BGS lexicon code for each formation has been supplied, so users can research any formation of interest. The maximum and minimum age of each formation, in a variety of formats, has also been added. This key information was sourced from Stoker et al (2011). Our understanding of the Quaternary lithostratigraphy is evolving due to the increased data collection associated with renewable energy development. However, no formal update of the regional lithostratigraphic framework has been completed at time of release. This dataset therefore reflects the understanding at the time of original publication. Inaccuracies in the dataset may have since been resolved and the level of uncertainty regarding the age or character of a formation may have changed. Nonetheless, this dataset contains valuable information, and this digital version will help facilitate access to this for users.

Date (Creation): 2025-08

Citation identifier: http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13608590

Point of contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Point of contact
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Point of contact

Maintenance and update frequency: notEntered

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Geology

BGS Thesaurus of Geosciences

UK Location (INSPIRE)
Shallow geology
Citable Data
Sea floor
Quaternary
Marine sediments

dataCentre

Keywords

NERC_DDC

Access constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: licenceOGL

Other constraints: Available under the Open Government Licence subject to the following acknowledgement accompanying the reproduced NERC materials "Contains NERC materials ©NERC [year]"

Use constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, via the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Manager. Use by customers of information provided by the BGS, is at the customer's own risk. In view of the disparate sources of information at BGS's disposal, including such material donated to BGS, that BGS accepts in good faith as being accurate, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the quality or accuracy of the information supplied, or to the information's suitability for any use. NERC/BGS accepts no liability whatever in respect of loss, damage, injury or other occurence however caused.

Other constraints: Available under the Open Government Licence subject to the following acknowledgement accompanying the reproduced NERC materials "Contains NERC materials ©NERC [year]"

Spatial representation type: Vector

Language: English

Topic category

Geoscientific information

Geographic identifier: GB
ISO 3166_1 alpha-3 2009 revision

Geographic identifier: UK [id=139300]
British Geological Survey Gazetteer: Geographical hierarchy from Geosaurus 1979 creation

Geographic identifier: UKM
ISO 3166_2 2009 revision

Begin date: 1984-01-01

End date: 1992-11-30

Unique resource identifier: WGS 84 (EPSG::4326)

Distribution format

Name	Version

Distributor contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor

Distributor contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
WWW:LINK-1.0-http--related	https://doi.org/10.5285/e1f03873-9619-4c69-8190-371330274108	Citation Information - Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link	https://www.bgs.ac.uk/geological-data/	BGS Datasets Homepage

Hierarchy level: Dataset

Other: dataset

Conformance result

Title: INSPIRE Implementing rules laying down technical arrangements for the interoperability and harmonisation of Geology

Date (Publication): 2011

Explanation: See the referenced specification

Pass: No

Conformance result

Title: Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services

Date (Publication): 2010-12-08

Explanation: See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:323:0011:0102:EN:PDF

Pass: No

Statement: This dataset was originally published between 1984 and 1992, as a series of individual map sheets. These map sheets were published in hard copy format, and subsequently available to view as digital scans via the BGS website. This is the first digital version of this dataset. Information retained from the original map sheets is available in the GIS dataset’s attributes. Additional information has been appended from the Stoker et al (2011) report ‘An overview of the lithostratigraphical framework for the Quaternary deposits on the United Kingdom continental shelf’, NERC research report RR/11/03. This information can be found in the GIS dataset’s attributes and is detailed in the accompanying user guide. Further information regarding the dataset’s generation is described within the User Guide for the dataset (OR/25/049). The GIS dataset and accompanying user guide were compiled by Andrew Dyson and Dayton Dove, with review by Andrew Finlayson.