Welcome!

Photo of Keith Schilling

As state geologist and director of the Iowa Geological Survey, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our website. It’s a great repository for all things related to Iowa geology and water resources, and I’m confident you’ll find a lot of interesting information to browse through. You’ll see that the site is organized around four main pillars of information exchange: research, services, popular interest, and data and resources.

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Recent News

A plane dropping fire retardant

Iowa Geological Survey’s expertise supports California wildfire prevention

Friday, October 18, 2024
Matthew Streeter, a soil scientist with the Iowa Geological Survey, has recently expanded his expertise to the wildfire-prone landscapes of Palo Cedro, California.
Photo of a fall trail with inset map

Join us for an Iowa Geological Survey Field Trip!

Friday, June 7, 2024
The Iowa Geological Survey will be leading a field trip in Muscatine County on Saturday, September 28.
The Ocheyedan river running dry

Iowa needs a plan for using its precious groundwater

Thursday, February 22, 2024
A conversion of several factors, some natural and some self-imposed, is leading to recognition that the State of Iowa needs a plan to safeguard groundwater reserves in the future.
front image of IGS Geode publication

The IGS Geode - a look at the activities of the Iowa Geological Survey from July 2022 through June 2023

Friday, January 12, 2024
Please enjoy an online copy of our magazine, The IGS Geode, showcasing some of the Iowa Geological Survey’s activities during the past year.
Cover of IGS geode magazine

Our latest issue of The IGS Geode

Friday, January 27, 2023
Please enjoy an online copy of our magazine, The IGS Geode, showcasing some of the Iowa Geological Survey’s activities during the past year.
Bedrock elevation and quaternary thickness maps of Lee County, Iowa

New maps published as part of USGS STATEMAP program

Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Iowa Geological Survey staff recently completed 10 map products as part of the US Geological Survey STATEMAP program.
IGS Geode magazine cover

Latest issue of The IGS Geode published

Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Please enjoy an online copy of our magazine, The IGS Geode, showcasing some of the Iowa Geological Survey’s activities during the past year.
Portrait of Keith Schilling

Funding to support renewable energy industries in Iowa

Thursday, September 23, 2021
State Geologist Keith Schilling is co-PI on a new four-year project funded by the US National Science Foundation through its Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
A person walking on a streambank

Eroding streambanks contribute phosphorus export

Monday, August 23, 2021
Eroding streambanks contribute a third or more of the phosphorus export from the state, according to estimates from ground-breaking research led by Keith Schilling and Matthew Streeter from the Iowa Geological Survey at the University of Iowa, along with co-investigators from Iowa DNR, Iowa State University and USDA.
A view of Storm Lake

Iowa Geological Survey invites public to discuss new mapping project around Storm Lake

Monday, June 28, 2021
The Iowa Geological Survey at the University of Iowa invites the public to a discussion regarding plans to map the geological features of the Outlet Creek Watershed and the area surrounding Storm Lake.

Popular Interest

30

If put end to end, core samples in the IGS Rock Library would stretch 30 miles

1,500,000

Bags of rock chips in the IGS Rock Library

470,000,000

IGS geologists determined that a meteor struck northeast Iowa 470M years ago