FIELD OBSERVATIONS

DODGE COUNTY, MINNESOTA

Field | Description
Main ID Information | Metadata Updated 2007
Title | Dodge County Aggregate Resource Evaluation - Field Observations
Filename | Fieldobs (ArcView Shapefile)
Abstract | This dataset includes information gathered in the field. Fieldwork was completed in the fall of 2001 and spring of 2002. It includes approximately 420 field observation sites within Dodge County and contains a field description of each site, the dominant type of material encountered, the source of information, type of site, unit thickness, and overburden thickness.
Place Keywords | Dodge County, Minnesota
Theme Keywords | Field Observations, Aggregate Resources, Surficial Geology
Time Period of Content | 2001
Parent Theme | NA
Spatial Extent of the Data | Dodge County, Minnesota
Contact Person | Aggregate Resources Mapping Program
Contact Person Organization/Division | Department of Natural Resources, Division of Lands and Minerals
Contact Person Position | Geologist or GIS Specialist
Contact Address | 500 Lafayette Road, Box 45
Contact City | St. Paul
Contact Zip Code | 55155-4045
Contact Voice Phone | 651-259-5959
Contact Fax Phone | 651-296-5939
Additional ID Information |
Originator | Department of Natural Resources, Division of Lands and Minerals, Mineral Potential Section
Purpose | To summarize the field observations. These observations were made to confirm air photo interpretations that identified potential aggregate bearing landforms.
Progress | Complete
Currentness Reference | All field observations were completed in the fall of 2001 and spring 2002
Maintenance Frequency | None Planned
Access Constraints | NA
Use Constraints | NA
Associated Data Sets | County Aggregate Mapping Program datasets for various counties, including data on sand and gravel potential, crushed stone potential, field observations, rock piles, and test pit quality data.
Data Quality |
Attribute Accuracy |
Logical Consistency | NA
Completeness | The data points were gathered at the location where field observations took place. Additional information is given in the lineage section.
Horizontal Positional Accuracy | The differential correction of the GPS unit for GPS located sites is +/- 2 meters. Some points were located on 1:24000 USGS topographic maps.
Vertical Positional Accuracy |
Lineage | A GPS unit was used to determine some of the locations of the data points. These points were then downloaded and slightly revised based on field observations, topographic maps, and aerial photographs. The GPS unit (with differential correction) is accurate to approximately a few meters. Other points were located on 1:24000 USGS topographic maps and 1:40000 aerial photographs. These coordinates were then checked with field notes and topographic maps to assure accuracy.
Source Scale Denominator | 24000
Spatial Reference |
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme | UTM
Ellipsoid | GRS80
Horizontal Datum | NAD83
Horizontal Units | Meters
Distance Resolution | NA
Altitude Datum | NA
Altitude Units | NA
Depth Datum | NA
Depth Units | NA
UTM Zone Number | 15E
Raster only |
Cell Width | NA
Cell Height | NA
Spatial Data Organization |
Geographic Reference for Tabular Data | NA
Native Dataset Environment | ArcView 3.1 and ArcInfo 8.0.2
Vendor Specific Object Type | Point
Tiling Scheme | County
Spatial Object Type | Point
Transfer Size | 123 kb
Entities -- Attributes |
Entity-Attribute Overview | This dataset consists of field observation site locations, type of site, unit thickness, and overburden thickness. ArcView specific fields include shape (i.e., feature type = point), area (0 for points), perimeter (0 for points), fieldobs_ (unique id for point, assigned by software), fieldobs_id (an id usually assigned during theme creation.
Entity-Attribute Detailed Citation | The field observation specific attributes are described in the table below.

Table Name | Field Name | Begin Column | Definition | Valid Values | Descriptions
fieldobs.dbf | Ident |  | Text, 24 | Ex: 001, A-1, B-3, etc… | Unique Identifiers used in the field, letters have no significance.
| Lat |  | Number, 12, 8 | 44.0610976 | Latitude locations identified by a GPS unit.
| Long |  | Number, 12, 8 | -92.75199481 | Longitude locations identified by a GPS unit.
| Site_type1 |  | Text, 16 | Drill Hole | Test hole drilled with a Giddings Soil Probe.
|  |  |  | Excavation | Badger Holes, Trenches, Construction Areas, or Foundations
|  |  |  | Exposure | Bedrock exposures.
|  |  |  | Gravel Pit | Gravel Pits Exposing Sand and Gravel Material.
|  |  |  | Outcrop | Stream, Road-Cut, Bank, Judicial Ditch, or Slump.
|  |  |  | Quarry | An existing quarry exposing bedrock.
|  |  |  | Other | Observed Vegetative trends, story of a land owner, etc...
| Site_type2 |  | Text, 16 | Back Hoe | A hole dug by a back hoe.
|  |  |  | Basement | Excavation of a basement.
|  |  |  | Bees Nest | Mound in earth occupied by bees/ flying insects.
|  |  |  | Burrow Pit | A mined pit for construction material
|  |  |  | Construction | Mining for fill material and/or other construction.
|  |  |  | Ditch | Material exposed in a ditch due to a slump or landscaping that has removed vegetation.
|  |  |  | Drill Hole | Test hole drilled with an 8 inch auger.
|  |  |  | Foundation | Material exposed in the digging of a basement/foundation.
|  |  |  | Gravel Pit | Materials exposed in gravel pit.
|  |  |  | Gully | Material exposed in a gully.
|  |  |  | Hill Cut | Material exposed on a cow path.
|  |  |  | Judicial Ditch | Materials exposed in manmade ditch.
|  |  |  | Large Trench | Material exposed by trenching with bulldozer.
|  |  |  | Ledge | Bedrock exposure as a ledge in a stream.
|  |  |  | Quarry | Bedrock units exposed in a quarry.
|  |  |  | Retaining Wall | Material exposed in a erosion of a retaining wall.
|  |  |  | River Cut | Stream exposed an area.
|  |  |  | Road Cut | Materials exposed in a road cut
|  |  |  | Stream Sediment | Exposure of sediment in stream
|  |  |  | Surface | Exposures of bedrock/material on the ground surface.
|  |  |  | Tiling Trench | Trenches for pipelines, tiling, cables, etc.
|  |  |  | Tree Tip | Bedrock material exposed in the roots of a tree tip.
|  |  |  | Trench | Any trench exposure of material.
|  |  |  | Vegetation | Noting material by type of vegetation that grows on surface.
| Field_stop |  | Number, 3, 0 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc… | Unique identifiers for each field point.
| Material_1 |  | Text, 16 | Ex: Sand, Gravel, Clay, Silt, Limestone, Sandstone. | Describes the primary type of material encountered at each observation site.
| Material_2 |  | Text, 16 | Ex: Sand, Gravel, Clay, Silt, Limestone, Sandstone. | Describes the secondary (not primary) type of material at each observation site.
| Fielddesc |  | Text, 80 | Ex: Drill Hole (0-9 ft) 0-6 Till, 6-9 Gravel. | A short field description of the observation site.
| Unitthick |  | Text, 8 | Ex:0, 4, 5, 8, 12, >3, >5, >10, etc... | A description of the thickness of the unit in feet, with “<“ or “>” modifiers.
| Overthick |  | Text, 8 | Ex: <3, 6, <5, >5, >20, etc... | A description of the thickness of the overburden covering the unit, with “<“ or “>” modifiers.
| Unitsamp |  | Text, 4 | Yes or No | Indicates whether the material was sampled. Not all sampled material was tested.
| Gravelpct |  | Number, 11, 0 | 40, 30, 20 | The estimated amount of gravel in the sample taken.
| Thickmod |  | Text, 4 | > | Modifies the Thick (i.e., Thickness field). Greater Than
|  |  |  | < | Less Than.
|  |  |  | ~ | Approximately.
| Thick |  | Number, 11, 0 | Ex: 10, 15, 30, 40 | Describes the thickness of the unit at the observation site in feet.
| Overmod |  | Text, 4 | > | Modifies the Over (Overburden Field). Greater Than.
|  |  |  | < | Less Than.
|  |  |  | ~ | Approximately.
| Over |  | Number, 11, 0 | Ex: 5, 10, 15, 20 | The thickness of the overburden observed and estimated in feet.
| Sampleid |  | Number,3,0 | Ex: 23, 51 | Sampleid is used to relate this shapefile to sieve.dbf. These records are drill holes, which were sampled and tested for textural characteristics based on a sieve analysis.