MDEQ Releases Geologic Map of Greenwood Quadrangle

Published 8:30 am Monday, August 16, 2021

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s (MDEQ) Office of Geology recently released a set of map products for Bolivar, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Leflore, Carroll, Grenada, Washington, and Coahoma Counties. It is anticipated that these maps will be useful for further research and for landowners and land development; land, water and wildlife management and conservation; and, to people living and working in this area of the Mississippi Delta.

The research and publication of these maps required more than a year of collaboration that included a detailed analysis of geophysical and remote sensing data, geoarchaeology, stratigraphy, paleontology, and field sampling. Information on how to download and how to purchase physical copies of the map can be found here.

“This area has stunningly beautiful terrain with exceptionally complicated geology that can really only be observed with these maps. In addition, this work directly affects our understanding of the Northwest Delta and the evolution of the Mississippi River Valley,” said Chris Wells, MDEQ Executive Director. “Our geologists continue to publish exceptional work that aids research into our state’s unique geology and has multiple practical applications.”

These maps are a result of a study led by Anna Reginelli, a Mississippi independent archaeological researcher, and MDEQ’s Surface Geology Division after discussions about the age of landforms and the archaeological sites of the first Native American people to inhabit Mississippi in the Northwest Delta region.

Field observations and the use of MDEQ’s LIDAR mapping (a remote sensing method used to examine the surface of the Earth greater accuracy) showed a clear need to correct and update the scientific literature on the archaeology of these ancient sites and landforms in the Northwest Delta region.

A cooperative mapping grant awarded to the Surface Geology Division from the USGS’s StateMap program aided in the production of these maps with a new interpretation of the surface geology of an area from the bluff line near Greenwood all the way to the Mississippi River in the Northwest Delta.

MDEQ hopes to be able to continue this research to finish a complete and updated surface geologic map of the Yazoo Basin.

Information about publications from the Office of Geology can be found here.