---
license: cc-by-sa-4.0
task_categories:
- image-segmentation
tags:
- geology
- geological-map
- cartography
- vectorization
- instance-segmentation
- remote-sensing
- synthetic
pretty_name: GeoCarto – geological map scans to vector units (4 continents)
size_categories:
- 1K<n<10K
configs:
- config_name: default
  data_files:
  - split: train
    path: data/train-*.parquet
  - split: validation
    path: data/validation-*.parquet
  - split: test
    path: data/test-*.parquet
---

# GeoCarto – from geological map images to vector units and faults

512×512 tiles of **geological maps** with pixel-exact ground truth for **map-unit instances** and **faults**,
covering **4 continents** (North America, Europe, Africa, Oceania). Built to train models that turn a scanned
geological map back into GIS polygons (e.g. affinity / boundary prediction + watershed).

* **real** tiles: USGS *Geologic Map of North America* (GMNA) 300 dpi rasters, with the official GMNA vector units
  and faults rasterised on the same grid (~423 m/px).
* **synthetic** tiles: the official vector maps of each region are **rendered as realistic printed geological maps**
  (CGMW/ICS chronostratigraphic colours modulated by lithology, stipple/hatch/volcanic "v"/plutonic "+" patterns,
  contacts (sometimes dashed), thick faults with thrust teeth or normal-fault ticks, unit labels with leader lines,
  sea with isobaths and ocean names, graticule, rivers, political boundaries, place names), then optionally
  "printed and scanned" (paper tint, uneven lighting, blur, noise, channel misregistration, JPEG).
  20 % of the tiles use a random palette so a model cannot learn "colour = unit". Scale varies from ~80 to ~600 m/px.

## Splits (spatial, no leakage)
Each source is cut into geographic blocks (150–600 km); every block belongs to exactly one split and a tile is kept
only if it lies entirely inside blocks of its split. Real and synthetic GMNA tiles share the same blocks.

| continent | source | kind | train | validation | test | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | UNESCO-Ethiopia | synthetic | 560 | 70 | 70 | 700 |
| Europe | GEO-LiM | synthetic | 960 | 120 | 120 | 1200 |
| North America | GMNA | real | 1141 | 81 | 78 | 1300 |
| North America | GMNA | synthetic | 480 | 60 | 60 | 600 |
| North America | USGS-California | synthetic | 560 | 70 | 70 | 700 |
| North America | USGS-Nevada | synthetic | 480 | 60 | 60 | 600 |
| Oceania | GA-Australia | synthetic | 1200 | 150 | 150 | 1500 |

## Columns
| column | content |
|---|---|
| `image` | RGB map tile (PNG, 512×512) |
| `instances` | uint16 PNG: 0 = no mapped unit (sea, lake, outside the map), 1..N = connected components of one geological unit. Two touching polygons of the **same** unit form **one** instance (no boundary is visible between them on a map). |
| `faults` | PNG {0,255}: fault traces rasterised 1 px wide (concealed/inferred faults included) |
| `units` | JSON: for each instance id → unit code, age and lithology from the source map |
| `source`, `continent`, `kind` (`real`/`synthetic`), `split` | provenance |
| `px_size_m`, `crs`, `bounds` | ground resolution and georeferencing of the tile |
| `render` | JSON rendering parameters of synthetic tiles (palette, scan effects…) |

```python
from datasets import load_dataset
import numpy as np
ds = load_dataset("PerfectWin/geocarto", split="train")
x = ds[0]
rgb = np.array(x["image"]); inst = np.array(x["instances"]).astype(np.int32); faults = np.array(x["faults"]) > 0
```

## Sources & licences (attribution required)
| region | dataset | licence |
|---|---|---|
| North America | Garrity, C.P., Soller, D.R., 2009, *Database of the Geologic Map of North America*, USGS Data Series 424 | public domain (USGS) |
| California, Nevada | Ludington, S. et al., 2005, *Preliminary integrated geologic map databases for the United States – Western States*, USGS OFR 2005-1305 | public domain (USGS) |
| Europe | Donnini, M., Marchesini, I., Zucchini, A., *A new Geo-Lithological Map (Geo-LiM) for Central Europe*, Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.3530257 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Africa | *Geological Map of Ethiopia at 1:1,000,000 scale*, Verner et al., UNESCO IHP-WINS | CC BY-SA |
| Oceania | Geoscience Australia, *Surface geology of Australia 1:1M* (dataset 149179) | CC BY 4.0 |

Because the Ethiopian map is CC BY-SA, the whole dataset is released under **CC BY-SA 4.0**.
The generator code (`code/geocarto.py`) and its configuration (`build_config.json`) are included.