The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin was designed primarily as a reference volume documenting the subsurface geology of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. This GIS dataset is one of a collection of shapefiles representing part of Chapter 31 of the Atlas, Petroleum Generation and Migration in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Figure 12, Devonian-Mississippian Petroleum System. Shapefiles were produced from archived digital files created by the Alberta Geological Survey in the mid-1990s, and edited in 2005-06 to correct, attribute and consolidate the data into single files by feature type and by figure.

This map displays an assessment of soil erosion risk for the agricultural area of Alberta. Loss of protective residue cover through cultivation will increase the potential risk of soil erosion. The vulnerability of the soil to erosion combined with the intensity of cultivation determines the degree to which the soil may be at risk. The classes shown on the map were ranked from 0 (lowest risk) to 1 (highest risk). This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

This map displays the percentage of organic matter in the surface layer of cultivated soils in the agricultural region of Alberta. Soil organic matter (SOM) is derived primarily from the decomposition of plant biomass. SOM improves both the physical and chemical properties of soil and has beneficial effects on agricultural soil quality. SOM is reported on the map as a percentage using the following classes: less than 2 (very low), 2 to 4 (low), 4 to 6 (medium), 6 to 8 (high) and greater than 8 (very high).This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin was designed primarily as a reference volume documenting the subsurface geology of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. This GIS dataset is one of a collection of shapefiles representing part of Chapter 9 of the Atlas, Middle Ordovician to Lower Devonian Strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Figure 24, Red River Isopach and Lithofacies. Shapefiles were produced from archived digital files created by the Alberta Geological Survey in the mid-1990s, and edited in 2005-06 to correct, attribute and consolidate the data into single files by feature type and by figure.

This map displays the distribution of Solonetzic soils in the agricultural region of Alberta. Solonetzic soils have developed on saline parent material that is high in sodium and have a characteristic hardpan layer that has formed in the subsoil. This hardpan is very hard when dry and has low permeability when wet. This results in restricted root and water penetration that may limit the productivity of these soils. Solonetzic soils occur in association with Chernozemic soils and, to a lesser extent, with Luvisolic soils.The Agricultural Region of Alberta Soil Inventory Database (AGRASID) soil landscape polygons that contained soils belonging to the Solonetzic Order were identified, and the areal extent of these soils was represented as a percentage of the total area using the following classes: greater than 30, 10 to 30 and less than 10. This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

This map illustrates the distribution of soil parent material textures in the agricultural region of Alberta. Soil texture is defined by the relative proportions of the sand, silt and clay particles present. Soil textures are identified by classes using the Soil Texture Triangle illustrated below. The Soil Texture Triangle identifies the textural class of a soil at the intersection of the percent sand (x-axis) and the percent clay (y-axis). The percent silt of the soil is the remainder to add up to 100 percent. This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin was designed primarily as a reference volume documenting the subsurface geology of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. This GIS dataset is one of a collection of shapefiles representing part of Chapter 14 of the Atlas, Carboniferous Strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Figure 35, Stoddart/Mattson/Kibbey Isopach and Lithofacies. Shapefiles were produced from archived digital files created by the Alberta Geological Survey in the mid-1990s, and edited in 2005-06 to correct, attribute and consolidate the data into single files by feature type and by figure.

The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin was designed primarily as a reference volume documenting the subsurface geology of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. This GIS dataset is one of a collection of shapefiles representing part of Chapter 9 of the Atlas, Middle Ordovician to Lower Devonian Strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Figure 25, Stony Mountain Isopach and Lithofacies. Shapefiles were produced from archived digital files created by the Alberta Geological Survey in the mid-1990s, and edited in 2005-06 to correct, attribute and consolidate the data into single files by feature type and by figure.

The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin was designed primarily as a reference volume documenting the subsurface geology of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. This GIS dataset is one of a collection of shapefiles representing part of Chapter 14 of the Atlas, Carboniferous Strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Figure 34, Rundle/Charles Isopach and Lithofacies. Shapefiles were produced from archived digital files created by the Alberta Geological Survey in the mid-1990s, and edited in 2005-06 to correct, attribute and consolidate the data into single files by feature type and by figure.

This map displays the distribution of organic soils in the agricultural region of Alberta. Organic soils consist of layers of material with greater than 30 percent organic matter and a total thickness of greater than 40 cm. Organic soils are generally saturated with water for most of the year unless drained. Saturation inhibits decomposition and encourages continued accumulation of organic material. Drainage of these soils can result in a rapid increase in decomposition and a reduction in the thickness of the organic material. This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.