Web services — geology maps, earthquake data and more
We are making more of our geological data available in open formats so that they can be used in mashup type applications within GIS software and Geobrowsers such as Google Earth. In addition to their full software products, ESRI® make the ArcGIS Explorer data viewer and MapInfo® make the MapInfo® ProviewerTM data viewer freely available. Open Source alternatives are also available. Please note the terms and conditions of use for such software. We hope these services stimulate innovative uses of our data and promote interoperability.
Terms of use:
Non-commercial use — acknowledge the material.
Commercial use — apply for a Digital Data Licence.
Map data services
OGC Associate Member logoWeb Map Services (WMS) — UK geology datasets
Viewable in GIS software such as ESRI's ArcGIS.
Also in geobrowsers and virtual globes such as Google Earth.
Also accessible from portal-style websites using a map-based interface.
search iconKML — UK geology and UK and worldwide earthquake maps
Viewable in Google Earth and Google Maps and an increasing number of other GIS, geobrowser systems and virtual globes.
RSS logoGeoRSS feeds — UK and worldwide earthquake maps
These feeds work as normal RSS feeds, but have additional location information embedded in each item. Viewable in applications such as Google Maps.
Matrix of available web servicesMatrix of map datasets available in different open formats
Different datasets are appropriate for different open formats.
The matrix shows the datasets that are available each format.
Other data services
RSS logo RSS news feeds

Get our news releases and the latest updates to our website as soon as they are posted without having to check it yourself for changes.


Database icon Vocabulary web service

Standardised terms that cover a wide range of geoscience specialisms. The BGS vocabulary web service has been implemented as a RESTful web service. It provides programmatic access to our dictionaries and their terms.