Geologic Mapping and Mineral Resources
The Geologic Mapping and Mineral Resources Section of the LGS conducts investigations of the surface geology of Louisiana and renders the results in map format at intermediate and large scales (1:100,000 and 24,000k, respectively).
Surface-geologic mapping projects conducted by the Louisiana Geological Survey (LGS) during the past 20 years comprise 1:100,000-scale compilations of 30 × 60 minute geologic quadrangles and 1:24,000-scale field-mapped 7.5-minute geologic quadrangles. The vast majority of these mapping efforts were funded under the STATEMAP component of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP), begun in 1993 and administered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The principal goal of this program of geologic mapping for LGS initially was to prepare statewide surface geology coverage at 1:100,000 scale in 30 × 60 minute quadrangle format. This scale was emphasized because it is at the large end of the range of intermediate scales, and preserves abundant detail from source mapping done at larger scales (principally 1:62,500 and 1:24,000) while yet covering relatively large areas. By the close of FY 2013, LGS had completed 30 × 60 minute geologic quadrangle coverage of the entire state (30 sheets total) with a mix of published lithographs and draft open-file compilations.
Since the late 1990s LGS also has prepared 7.5-minute geologic quadrangles at 1:24,000 scale totaling 53 sheets. Forty-three were prepared with STATEMAP support, and the other ten were prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers within the Fort Polk region, southcentral Louisiana.
State map 2015-2016 deliverables completed and submitted included geological maps and pamphlets covering four 7.5 minute quadrangles in two study areas (Poverty Point area in northeastern Louisiana and the Amite River Valley north-northeast of Denham Springs).
Geologic Mapping Staff
Paul V. Heinrich
Research Associate 4
Email: heinric@lsu.edu
Telephone: 225-578-4398
Paul V. Heinrich graduated from Louisiana State University in 1976 with a BS in Geology.
He earned his MS in Geology at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, in 1982,
studying the sedimentology and stratigraphy of Pleistocene slackwater deposits in
Southeast Illinois. At LGS he has been involved in a number of projects involving
the Quaternary and archaeological geology in Louisiana and in the Southeast United
States. Research interests include geologic mapping at 1:24,000 and 1:100,000 scales;
geomorphology and subsurface stratigraphy of the Willis and Citronelle formations;
meteorite impact craters; neotectonics within Southwest Louisiana; stratigraphy and
geomorphology of Pleistocene sediments composing the Louisiana coastal plain; and
geoarchaeology of the coastal plain of Louisiana and adjacent states. He has worked
for the Illinois State Geological Survey, conducting field studies for the Rural Abandoned
Mine Program; as an exploration geologist for Placid Oil Company in Denver; as a Field
Archaeologist for Prewitt and Associates Archaeological Consultants, Inc., Austin,
Texas; and as a consultant conducting studies of and co-authoring reports on either
the archaeological or environmental geology of project areas for various companies,
including: Coastal Environments Inc.; Earth Search, Inc.; Gilbert/Commonwealth Associates,
Inc.; R. Christopher Goodwin and Associates, Inc.; Iroquois Research Institute; Reid
Company, Inc.; and Prewitt and Associates Archaeological Consultants, Inc.
Richard P. McCulloh
Research Associate 5
Email: mccullo@lsu.edu
Telephone: 225-578-5327
Richard P. McCulloh holds a B.S. degree in geology from Oklahoma State University
and an M.A. degree in geology from the University of Texas at Austin. He joined the
Louisiana Geological Survey (LGS) in Baton Rouge after working for two years as a
geologist for Conoco Minerals Inc. in the south Texas uranium district. Since joining
LGS he has been involved in a variety of subsurface and surface geological investigations,
with the overall focus of his efforts shifting from the subsurface Tertiary to the
surface geology of Quaternary and Tertiary units. Areas of research interest and involvement
(formal and informal) have included assessment of geopressured-geothermal potential;
assessment of sedimentary uranium potential; stratigraphic configurations associated
with Miocene growth faults; delineation of shale-filled channels in the Wilcox Group;
surface and shallow-subsurface geology of emergent salt domes in coastal Louisiana;
structural geomorphology as reflected in stream nets and alluvial courses; and surface
geology at 1:24,000, 1:100,000, 1:250,000, and 1:500,000 scales. He has also done
part-time work as an editorial assistant for Erico Inc. (precursor of Masera Corporation),
an international petroleum consulting firm; and as an abstractor for Japanese Technical
Information Service, a subsidiary of University Microfilms.