iGeology App | Britain's rocks in your pocket
What is iGeology?
iGeology is a free smartphone App that lets you take a geological map of Britain with you wherever you go to help you learn about the rocks beneath your feet. And with the phone's GPS, you'll know exactly where you are.
Free iGeology download
iPhone or iPad from
iTunes or the App Store
Android from
Google Play
Simplified cross browser
Geology of Britain mobile
iGeology for iPhones & iPads now offers two geological hazard reports as in-app purchases:
Natural subsidence reports are priced at £4.99 and radon risk reports at £3.99.
Don't be surprised by geology — get a report!
Find out about more new features in iGeology.
iGeology 3D
iGeology 3D, an augmented reality companion product to iGeology.BGS iGeology Voted Best App
iGeology was voted best Community Favourite Mobile App in the recent ESRI Inc Storytelling with Maps contest. The award was presented to the lead developer Wayne Shelley by Jack Dangermond CEO and founder of ESRI Inc. ... more on this story
Who can use iGeology?
Amateur geologists and school/university students can learn more about their landscape wherever they are in Britain.
I wonder what my house is built on?
What are the rocks called?
Geology comes to life when you learn about it in the in the great outdoors. iGeology gives you access to the national scale and most of the 1:50 000 scale maps of the UK. Walkers can use it wherever they roam and mobile coverage allows map loading.
iGeology is intended for non-commercial use e.g. private study, research and educational activities. More about BGS digital data licensing.
How does it work?
- Enter a place name or postcode, or locate yourself with your phone's in-built GPS.
- Zoom in on your area of interest
- Tap on the geological map
- What are you standing on? Deposits from an ice age?
- What is the bedrock beneath the superficial deposits?
- Need a more detailed description? Follow the links to the BGS rock name database (Lexicon) and learn about the different rock formations where you are.
- Need site-specific report or paper map? Go to GeoReports or the BGS Bookshop
- 3D view shows you the geology, hills and valleys as if you were standing on the ground. Tilt and turn your screen to look around. (Only Android users at the moment, sorry iUsers)
What's new in version 4.0 of iGeology for Android?
This major update to iGeology now includes:
- A choice of map layers to display:
- Bedrock geology
- Superficial deposits
- Boreholes
- Linear features (e.g. faults)
- William Smith historical map
- View scanned borehole records
- Improved topographic maps (Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 scale)
User feedback has been instrumental in developing this update so please let us know what you think.
Free our data!
In December 2009 the BGS launched its OpenGeoscience web portal offering free access to BGS maps, photos, reports, data downloads and software — for non-commercial users.
The BGS Geology of Britain viewer brought street-level scale geology into the homes of England, Scotland and Wales. Schools and universities loved it and geologists around the world blogged about it, and they still do.
We hope that the release of iGeology, and OpenGeoscience, will help us develop new and innovative ways to use our information to help solve the problems facing humankind today; climate change, sustainable energy or geological hazards such as earthquakes or landslides.
By harnessing the power of the public we may soon be able to ‘crowdsource’ ideas that may help reduce the impact of these issues. iGeology is just the start of this process and in the future, for example, we may be able to get felt observations of earthquakes, gather video or georeferenced photos, or as technology advances, use mobile phones as seismometers.
iGeology also takes a further step in complying with the EU INSPIRE directive in enabling better public access to spatial information across Europe.
Map accuracy and data coverage
iGeology is accurate to about 50 metres on the ground — street-level accuracy.
5% of 1:50 000 scale data is unavailable for England, Scotland and Wales.
Only 1:625 000 scale data is available for Northern Ireland.
Geological layers
iGeology shows only bedrock geology and the overlying superficial deposits. More geological layers (artificial ground, faults, mass movements, etc.) are available through a web map service — DiGMapGB-50 — WMS.
iGeology reviews
- Excellent App! | Fuhji
Fast, intuitive and does exactly what it says on the tin! Keep up the good work | ☆☆☆☆☆ - Great App! | GeologyDude
Great stuff, easy to use. | ☆☆☆☆☆
The iGeology app is a great example of how the right technology can make geography an indispensible part of everyday life. It’s a smart combination of the mass market appeal of the App Store with Esri’s ArcGIS Server technology. The end result is that public data is put instantly into the hands of the ordinary citizen.
Contact
Contact enquiries for further information about iGeology
- BBC Material World, interview with BGS' Keith Westhead
