Suggestions to Authors 

of the Reports of the 

U n i ted States 

Geological Survey 

Seventh Edition 

REVISED AND EDITED BY 

WALLACE R. HANSEN 

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1991 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director -=--*-- -___ 

First Edition, 1909 

Second Edition, 191 3 

Third Edition, 1916 

Fourth Edition, 1935 

Fifth Edition, 1958 

Sixth Edition, 1978 

Seventh Edition, 1991 

Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only 

and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, 

U.S. Government Printing Office, 

Washington, D.C. 20402 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 

Suggestions to authors of the reports of the United States Geological Survey. 

Bibliography: p. 272-274 

1. Geology-Authorship-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Manuscript preparation (Authorship)-Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Hansen, Wallace R., 1920- 

II. Geological Survey (U.S.) 

QE48.S85 1989 808l.06655 89-6001 92 

Preface to the 

Seventh Edition 

T HIS SEVENTH EDITION of "Suggestions to Authors of the Reports of 

the United States Geological Survey" (STA) carries on a long tradition 

of guidance for writers, reviewers, editors, typists, and other persons helping 

prepare manuscripts within the Survey. With the advent of "desktop publishing" through the use of word processors and personal computers, moreover, 

many authors are becoming more involved in publication matters previously 

handled mostly by editors and typists. When the sixth edition of STA went 

out of print in 1984, its obsolescence in the light of rapid technological advances in earth science, and of changing publication techniques and requirements, convinced the Survey that a new, completely revised edition would be 

more appropriate than a reprinting of the old. STA 7 was thus conceived. 

Most suggestions in STA 7 are stated in simple declarative sentences written in the third person. Many are offered in the second, and a few are even 

expressed in the imperative mood. Technical writing seldom has a place for 

either the second person or the imperative mood, but STA is not a technical 

report in the sense of a Survey Bulletin or Professional Paper, and its style 

accordingly is less constrained. Prospective authors should bear this difference in mind when preparing their reports. Many sentences in the paragraph 

you are now reading are phrased in the passive voice, and could scarcely be 

stated otherwise, but STA favors the strength and simplicity of the active 

voice for most expository writing. On the other hand, if the active voice 

turns the thrust of a sentence away from the true subject of discussion, as 

sometimes happens, the passive voice may be better. Written English grammar and style have evolved pragmatically through the years from writers' 

efforts toward better communication. The same is true of STA, but much 

usage remains subjective. Some suggestions in STA, or in any style guide, 

are open to challenge, including such things as the use of the active voice 

versus the passive, subtle differences in the tenses of verbs, placements of 

adverbs, uses of relative pronouns and unattached participles, and the meanings of words. Even the use of commas, dashes, and colons can be subjective 

and arguable. So also can the organization of paragraphs and chapters and 

the preparation and content of illustrations. The whole point is that the 

Survey's attitude toward writing does not support rigid adherence to mindless rules but, rather, urges reportorial flexibility to meet the needs of 

precision and clarity. Don't be bound by STA, but ignore it at your peril; 

experience has shown that attention to the hints and guidelines expressed in 

STA will enhance the precision and clarity of nearly any Survey report, will 

yield better prepared manuscript copy, and will hasten processing for 

publication. 

Preface VII 
In today's times of technical specialization, and because of the breadth of 

the subject matter in STA, a book such as this can hardly be the work of one 

person. Much material that is still relevant has been taken almost verbatim 

from earlier editions. Many experts from the varied disciplines of earth science, moreover, have contributed their talents toward this book, and all of 

them have submitted new copy written in their own individual styles. Some 

stylistic variety therefore is inevitable and appropriate in STA, but to narrow 

the wide swings and achieve a certain syntactic unity, and to avoid possible 

inconsistencies, I have freely recast the individual contributions into a tighter 

idiosyncratic form. For this I apologize to all contributors who thereby may 

have been dismayed by any perceived highhandedness. The editing process 

itself introduced inevitable changes. I bear responsibility for the content and 

flavor of this edition of STA, but the following people helped immeasurably 

in its preparation, and in the following specialities: Julia E. H. Taylor, manuscript processing; Richard B. Taylor, mineral deposits; Clement T. Shearer, 

hazards warnings; Diane C. Schnabel, preparing manuscripts, formatting 

manuscripts and abstracts, preparing abstracts, proofing, instructions to 

typists, and many other details; David L. Schleicher, back up, ways and 

means; Anne C. Sangree, references and abbreviations; Edward T. Ruppel, 

geologic maps and sections; Charles L. Pillmore, plotters and personal 

computers; Donald J. Orth, geographic names; Harold E. Malde, technical 

review; Marjorie E. MacLachlan, geologic and stratigraphic names; Solomon 

M. Lang, metric system; Claire B. Davidson, aquifer nomenclature; Robert L. 

Laney, aquifer nomenclature; Donovan B. Kelly, news releases; Diane N. 

Jones, illustrations; Helen E. Hodgson, grammar, punctuation, and style; 

Jack E. Harrison, geologic maps and sections; Eugene R. Hampton, water 

resources reports; Elizabeth E. Good, tables and leaderwork; Joan J. Fitzpatrick, chemical, mineralogic, and petrologic terminology; J. Thomas Dutro, 

Jr., paleontologic terminology; Charlotte D. Densmore, manuscript keyboarding; Carol Waite Connor, poster sessions; Elizabeth D. Koozmin, page-size 

maps; Arlene B. Compher, graphics; Ann Coe Christiansen, maps and other 

illustrations; Marjorie J. Cater, manuscript keyboarding. 

Several organizations kindly permitted STA to reproduce copyrighted or 

otherwise privately owned material. These groups are cited individually in 

the text; they include the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 

King Features Syndicate, Inc., The Mineralogical Society of America, and 

United Media Enterprises, Inc. Robert C. McArtor provided camera-ready 

prints of material from the GPO Style Manual. Robert L. Bates allowed us to 

use selections from his column in "Geotimes." The fine old steel engraving 

on page 42 of STA is taken from John Wesley Powell's "Exploration of the 

Colorado River." Many other people also contributed time and talent to STA, 

and the entire Survey owes them its gratitude. 

Vlll Preface 
Contents 

Foreword V 

Preface to the seventh edition VII 

Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey 1 

The Survey publication process 4 

Reference books 4 

Atlases 4 

Dictionaries 4 

Editing and reviewing 4 

English usage and grammar 4 

Glossaries 5 

Report writing 5 

Style manuals 5 

Other 5 

Getting started 5 

Before beginning the investigation 6 

After completing the investigation 6 

Choice of publication medium 6 

The detailed outline 7 

The first draft 7 

Preparing and checking report for technical review 8 

Technical review and revision 8 

Editing 9 

The author and the editor 9 

Director's approval 10 

Checking drafted illustrations 10 

Galley and page proofs 10 

Word processors: changing the way scientists write 10 

Duties, ethics, and professional writing practices 12 

Many contributors 12 

Plagiarism eschewed 12 

Acknowledgments 12 

Dedication of U. S. Geological Survey publications 13 

Credits and copyrights 13 

Copyright transfer 14 

Writing skills 14 

Accuracy 14 

Quotations 15 

Promptness 15 

Professional disagreements 15 

Clarity 15 

Contents IX 
Duties, ethics, and professional writing practices-Continued 

Name continuity 16 

The scientist as volume editor 16 

Hypothetical publication schedule 17 

Form and content of the report 19 

Title page 19 

Title 19 

Authorship 19 

Affiliations 20 

Statement of cooperation 20 

Descriptive statement 20 

Front matter 20 

Foreword and preface 20 

Contents, illustrations, and tables 21 

Abstract for the written report 21 

Abstracts for talks at scientific meetings 23 

The text 24 

The introduction 24 

Body of the report 25 

Headings 25 

Footnotes 25 

Concluding section 25 

Reference list 25 

The appendix 25 

Index 26 

Planning and management for water-resources reports 27 

Principal organizational units 27 

Reports prepared by the Water Resources Division 27 

Importance of quality and timeliness 27 

Planning and managing reports 30 

Characteristics of a quality report 30 

Quality assurance in the Water Resources Division 32 

Colleague review-the cornerstone of quality assurance 32 

District chiefs and research project managers 32 

Reviewers 32 

Regional evaluation 32 

Headquarters evaluation 34 

Author's responsibilities after Director's approval 35 

Preparing manuscripts for printing 35 

Releasing and distributing published reports 35 

The Survey's publication process summarized 36 

Review and approval 36 

Typical manuscript sequence 36 

Stratigraphic nomenclature and description 43 

Geologic Names Units and the Geologic Names Committee 43 

Conformance to the code and modification to stratigraphic units 44 

Temporal and related units 45 

X Contents 
Stratigraphic nomenclature and description-Continued 

Material units 45 

Formal names 45 

New names 46 

Previously defined names 46 

Modification of existing names 46 

Informal names 47 

Summary of formal versus informal usage 48 

Examples of informal nomenclature 48 

Stratigraphic unit descriptions 49 

Text matter 49 

Explanations for geologic maps 49 

Correlation or sequence of map units 49 

Description of map units 49 

Symbols for map units 52 

Correlation charts and stratigraphic tables 52 

Measured sections 54 

Cross sections and stratigraphic columnar sections 55 

Stratigraphic style and expression 55 

Abbreviations 55 

Capitalization of stratigraphic unit names 55 

Divisions of geologic time 58 

Precambrian 58 

Archean and Proterozoic 60 

Phanerozoic 60 

Carboniferous 60 

Provincial land-mammal ages of the Tertiary 60 

Provincial series terms 60 

Neoglaciation 60 

Holocene and recent 60 

Early, middle, and late versus lower, middle, and upper 60 

European stage terms 62 

Expressions for degrees of doubt 62 

Quotation marks 63 

Undesirable expressions 63 

Units of economic, local, subsurface, or regional interest 63 

Publication of stratigraphic data 63 

Publication restrictions 63 

U. S. Geological Survey publications 63 

Guidelines for naming aquifers 65 

Aquifer nomenclature 65 

Aquifer 65 

Aquifer system 66 

Zone 66 

Confining unit 66 

Terms to avoid 67 

Contents XI 
Guidelines for naming aquifers-Continued 

Definition of the hydrogeologic framework 67 

Deriving aquifer names 69 

Recommended sources for aquifer names 71 

Lithologic names for aquifers 71 

Rock-stratigraphic names for aquifers 71 

Using rock-stratigraphic names for aquifers 74 

Geographic names for aquifers 74 

Nonrecommended sources for aquifer names 74 

Time-stratigraphic names 74 

Relative position 75 

Alphanumeric designations 75 

Depositional environment 75 

Depth of occurrence 75 

Acronyms 75 

Hydrologic condition 75 

Recommendations for naming confining units 76 

General procedures, style, and expression 76 

Redefining and renaming previously named aquifers 76 

Format conventions for aquifer names 76 

Examples of designating and naming aquifers 77 

Geographic names 83 

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names 83 

Nature of geographic names 83 

The Geographic Names Information System 83 

Principles of national standardization 84 

Spelling geographic names 84 

Determining official names 84 

Domestic names decisions 85 

Geographic names policies 85 

Proposing new names 85 

Proposing name changes 86 

Long and short forms of names 86 

Parenthetical use of variant names 86 

Unacceptable derogatory names 86 

Diacritical marks in domestic names 86 

Name duplication 86 

Punctuation marks 87 

Abbreviations and number names 87 

Capitalization of geographic names 87 

Names of regions, localities, and geographic features 88 

Physical divisions of the United States 88 

Geographic-geologic names 90 

Foreign geographic names 90 

Chemical terminology 91 

XI1 Contents 
Mineralogic terminology and descriptions 93 

Mineral names 93 

Mineralogic terminology 93 

Reporting X-ray data 93 

Chemical nomenclature as it relates to mineralogy 93 

Use of mineral names 93 

Use of prefixes 93 

Use of suffixes 94 

Use of adjectival modifiers 94 

New mineral descriptions 94 

Mineral reserves, resources, resource potential, and certainty 95 

Reserves and resources 95 

Mineral resource potential and certainty 96 

Levels of mineral resource potential 96 

Levels of certainty 97 

Petrologic terminology 98 

General petrologic terms 98 

Igneous rock names 98 

Sedimentary and metamorphic rock names 98 

New names 98 

Modifiers 98 

Petrologic abbreviations 99 

Rock analyses and sample descriptions 99 

Paleontologic terminology 100 

Synonymy 100 

A few guidelines 101 

Numbering systems for samples and specimens 102 

Abbreviations, signs, and symbols 104 

Names of countries and other political subdivisions 104 

States and possessions of the United States 104 

Accents and diacritical marks 105 

Addresses 105 

Chemical elements, names, and symbols 105 

Dates 105 

Geochronologic dating 105 

Land 107 

Latitude and longitude 107 

Measurements 107 

Minerals 107 

Names and titles 107 

Number 107 

Percent 107 

Rocks 108 

Temperature 109 

Terms of direction 109 

Common word abbreviations 109 

Scientific and engineering terms 109 

Contents Xlll 
Numbers 117 

Significant figures 119 

Rounding off numbers 119 

Absolute and relative errors 120 

Arithmetic operations 120 

Misusing significant figures 121 

The metric system 122 

Suggestions as to expression 124 

Unity, coherence, and emphasis 124 

Common grammatical problems 124 

Problems with sentence structure 124 

Sentence fragments 124 

Run-on sentences 125 

Lack of agreement between sentence elements 125 

Subjectlverb disagreements 125 

Plurallsingular verbs and singularlplural predicate nouns 125 

Pronoun disagreements 126 

Problems with collectives and their verbs 126 

Eliminating indefinite antecedents 126 

Modifers 127 

Misplaced modifers 127 

Dangling modifiers 128 

Other misplaced words and phrases 128 

Dangling non sequiturs 129 

Troublesome participles 129 

Uncoordinated sentence elements 130 

Incomplete comparisons 130 

Problems with poorly chosen adverbs, prepositions, and infinitives 130 

Adverbs 130 

Prepositions 131 

Prepositions doubled up 131 

Infinitives 131 

Effective punctuation 132 

The comma 132 

The semicolon 134 

The period 135 

The exclamation point 135 

The colon 136 

The dash 136 

Parentheses 137 

The hyphen 137 

In syllable breaks 137 

In unit modifiers 137 

Slash or virgule 139 

The apostrophe 139 

Brackets 139 

Points of ellipsis 139 

Quotation marks 140 

XIV Contents 
Suggestions as to expression-Continued 

Style 140 

Emphasis 140 

Position 140 

Order 141 

Voice 141 

Specific terms 141 

Italic 141 

Variety in sentence length and type 141 

Four types of sentences 141 

Active versus passive voice 142 

Passive voice and personal pronouns, first and third person 143 

Enhancing clarity 143 

That, which, who, whom, and whose 

in restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses 143 

Parenthetical expressions 144 

Parallel construction 144 

Excessively long unit modifiers 146 

Split infinitives 146 

Terminal prepositions 147 

Repetition and synonyms 147 

Acronyms 147 

Ten steps toward clarity 147 

Conciseness 147 

Expletives 148 

Gunning's fog index 148 

Coherence in the report 149 

Topic sentences 149 

Paragraph organization 149 

Paragraph length 149 

Transitions and coherence 149 

Coined verbs 150 

Abstract nouns in the subject of the sentence 151 

Forgetting your subject 152 

Modified subject misapplied 152 

Undesirable change in construction 152 

Undesirable alliteration 152 

Loose versus tight language 153 

Meaningless redundancies 153 

Prepositions in idiomatic expressions 153 

Foreign words 153 

Vogue words and trite phrases 153 

Stilted and showy language 154 

Care with metaphors and similes 154 

Pathetic fallacy 154 

Sexist pronouns 155 

Ellipsis 155 

Contents XV 
Suggestions as to expression-Continued 

Choosing the right word 156 

Preparing maps and other illustrations 184 

Planning 184 

Cost considerations 184 

Planning maps 185 

Base-map needs 185 

Planning text figures 186 

Image sizes 186 

Special requirements 186 

Maps 186 

Contacts, faults, and fold axes 186 

Lithologic patterns 187 

Map explanations 187 

Map symbols 187 

Index maps 191 

Mine maps 191 

Cross sections 192 

Exaggerated sections 194 

Patterns and lines 194 

Fence diagrams 194 

Page-size maps 194 

Initial decisions 194 

Materials 195 

Components of page-size geologic maps 195 

Stratigraphic sections, lithologic 

columnar sections, and well logs 197 

Computer graphics 198 

Photographs 198 

Black-and-white prints 198 

Color prints 199 

Special requirements 199 

Captions for photographs 199 

Irrelevancies 202 

Photographs on oversize plates and maps 202 

Drawings from photographs 202 

Fossil plates 202 

Aerial photographs 202 

Shaded-relief maps from photographs 202 

Frontispieces 202 

Cover art and other special artwork 202 

Graphs and diagrams 203 

Preparing graphs and diagrams for review 203 

Combination graphs 208 

Engineering drawings 209 

Slides and viewgraphs 209 

XVI Contents 
Preparing maps and other illustrations-Continued 

Preparation of author copy 209 

Titles and captions of illustrations 209 

Use of abbreviations 210 

Final check of maps and other illustrations before review 210 

Technical review of author copy 211 

Author response to technical review 212 

Transmittal for approval and preparation 212 

Review of map preparation plans after Director's approval 213 

Review of check prints after preparation for publication 213 

Date and initial 213 

Disposition of original illustrations, 

photographs, and reproducibles after publication 213 

Field records and photographs 214 

Permanent disposition 214 

Photographic library 214 

Field records library 215 

Tables 216 

Photogrammetry applied to earth science in the U.S. Geological Survey 223 

History and development 223 

The computer-assisted geologic mapping system 224 

How to get aerial photographs 224 

Guidelines for reviewing technical reports 226 

Review practices 226 

Treat manuscripts as privileged documents 226 

Have a positive attitude 226 

Be prompt 226 

Document the review 226 

Elements that affect the significance of the report 227 

Prior publication 227 

New facts; useful reviews 227 

Intended readership 227 

Timeliness 227 

Adequacy of detail 227 

Adequacy of approach 228 

Results and their relative importance 228 

Soundness and relevance of conclusions 228 

Presentation 228 

Title 228 

Abstract 228 

Introduction 228 

Illustrations and tables 229 

References 229 

Acknowledgments 229 

Organization 229 

Clarity 229 

Accuracy and consistency 229 

Contents XVll 
Reviewing maps and cross sections 230 

Responsibilities 230 

Starting the review 230 

What to check next 230 

Reviewing the map units 230 

What to look for in the explanation 230 

Reviewing the map and cross sections 230 

General guidelines 230 

What to look for on the map and sections 231 

Checklists for reviewing maps and sections 232 

Map logic 232 

Cross sections 232 

Other considerations 233 

Preparing references for Survey reports 234 

Types of material cited 234 

References cited within the text 234 

Reference list (references cited) or bibliography 235 

How to list references 235 

Elements of a bibliographic citation 236 

Details of the citation 236 

Examples of cited publications 239 

Posters for scientific meetings 242 

Planning the poster 242 

Scientific content 242 

Design 242 

Lettering, line weights, and color 243 

Computer printouts 245 

Text 245 

Mounting, packaging, and displaying 245 

The alternative poster 245 

News releases 246 

Writing a news release 248 

Talking to the news media 248 

Letters to editors 248 

Hazard warnings 249 

If you detect a geologic hazard 249 

Formatting Survey manuscripts for review and editing 250 

Where to begin 250 

General guidelines for the entire manuscript 250 

Note for "New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey" 251 

Front matter 251 

Title page 251 

Contents 251 

List of illustrations 252 

List of tables 252 

First page 252 

XVlll Contents 
Formatting Survey manuscripts for review and editing-Continued 

Body of text 253 

Figure and table references in text 254 

Formatting illustrations and their titles (captions) 255 

Sample figure captions 256 

USGS Professional Paper and 

Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations 256 

USGS Bulletin, Circular, and Water-Supply Paper 256 

Short title 256 

Formatting and typing tables 256 

Parts of a table 256 

Title 256 

Bracketed headnote 257 

Leaders 257 

Horizontal and vertical rules 257 

Camera-ready text and tables 257 

Guidelines 2 5 7 

Maximum, minimum, and ideal widths for 

camera-ready tables prepared for USGS publications 258 

Equations 258 

Measured sections 259 

Disclaimers 260 

References cited 261 

Reference list 261 

Unpublished information 262 

Reference citation in text 262 

Samples of references cited in typed text 262 

Halftitle page 262 

Appendixes 262 

Formatting abstracts for scientific meetings 262 

Checklists 263 

Checklist for completed manuscript 263 

General guidelines 263 

Contents, lists of illustrations, and tables 263 

Footnotes 264 

Figure and table citations in text 264 

Illustrations and their captions 264 

Tables 264 

Equations 264 

Measured sections 264 

Disclaimers 264 

References 264 

Appendixes 264 

Checklist for abstracts for scientific meetings 264 

Contents XIX 
Proofreading 265 

Rationale and types 265 

When to proofread 265 

General techniques of proofreading 265 

Two-person proofreading 265 

How and where to make corrections 266 

Before typesetting 266 

After typesetting 266 

Common changes 266 

Insertion 266 

Deletion 266 

Substitution 266 

Transposition 267 

Punctuation 267 

Capital or lowercase letters 267 

Commonly used proofreader's marks 267 

Sample galley proof 269 

Exceptions to the GPO Style Manual 270 

References 272 

Index 275 

1. Organization chart of the U.S. Geological Survey 28 

2. A project and report review sheet used in the Water Resources Division 31 

3. A project report schedule used in Districts of the Water Resources Division 33 

4. Generalized diagram of the manuscript 

approval process in the Water Resources Division 34 

5. Manuscript review and approval sheet 

(routing sheet) used in the Geologic Division 38 

6. Manuscript review and approval sheet 

(routing sheet) used in the Water Resources Division 40 

7. A simple explanation for a Geologic Quadrangle Map 50 

8. A moderately complex correlation diagram 

from the explanation of a 1-degree x 2-degree geologic map 51 

9. A correlation chart showing stages, ages, 

molluscan zones, and formations at selected localities 53 

10. A stratigraphic table showing varied terminologies used for the same rocks 53 

11. A part of a measured section showing 

bed numbers, bed thicknesses, and cumulative thicknesses 54 

12. A part of a measured section derived from a drill core 55 

13. A stratigraphic cross section showing complex intertonguing 56 - - 

14. A stratigraphic columnar section 58 

15. A chart showing divisions of time-major 

geochronologic, chronostratigraphic, and geochronometric units 59 

XX Contents 
A chart showing major series and 

provincial series terms used in the United States 61 

A chart comparing geologic units, hydrogeologic units, 

and equivalent units in a digital ground-water flow model 68 

A chart comparing geologic and 

hydrogeologic units with those in previous reports 70 

A chart showing comparison of hydrogeologic units, 

rock-stratigraphic units, and time-stratigraphic units 72 

Diagrams showing examples of designating and naming aquifers 78 

A chart showing classification of mineral resources 96 

A chart showing mineral-assessment classification 

based on level of resource potential versus level of certainty 97 

"Author's Check List," front and back (Form 9-1517, revised March 1987) 1; 

Special purpose index map 190 

Location map accompanying figure 24 191 

Special purpose index map showing geologic 

setting of the Illinois River sulfide occurrence 191 

An index map identifying several published Geologic Quadrangle Maps and 

their geographic settings, including drainage and major highways and roads 1' 

Index map of the Sand Dunes 

Wilderness Study Area, Sweetwater County, Wyo. 193 

Geologic map showing major outcrops of 

igneous and metamorphic rocks and lines of cross sections 196 

Geologic map showing outcrop areas of Livingston 

Formation in the Madison and Gallatin Ranges, locations 

of paleontological collections, and sample sites of igneous rocks 198 

Geologic map of Vermillion Creek area 

affected by the beheading of Irish Canyon 200 

Part of a geologic map of the Lewis and Eldorado thrust plates 

from the southern part of Glacier National Park to Steamboat Mountain 201 

Elements of a graph 203 

Curve or line graph 204 

An isochron plot 204 

Horizontal bar graph 204 

Column or vertical bar graph 204 

Surface or band graph 204 

Symbol graph 205 

Collins diagram 205 

Kite diagram 205 

Nomograph 205 

Piper diagram 206 

Modified Piper diagram 206 

Radiating-vectors diagram 206 

Semilog concentration graph (Ropes diagram) 206 

Stiff diagram 207 

Circular (pie) diagram 207 

Contents XXI 
Triangular diagram 207 

Schmidt equal-area projection 207 

A vertical bar and straight horizontal line combination graph 208 

A combination of vertical bars and a curved line in a graph 208 

A curved line and straight horizontal line combined in a graph 208 

An inset of a smaller graph superimposed on a larger one 208 

Diagram showing two methods of leading 

viewers through poster: numbers and arrows 243 

Diagram showing attention-getting 

combination of curved and straight shapes and lines 243 

Typed text enlarged on a copying machine 244 

Diagram showing a method of using concealed 

thumbtacks to attach poster elements to the display board 245 

Tables 

Current publications of the U.S. Geological Survey 2 

Chemical symbols 106 

Mineral symbols 108 

Abbreviations, signs, and symbols for scientific and engineering terms 109 

Conversion factors for SI (metric) 

and inchlpound (U.S. customary) units of measurement 122 

The fog index by reading level 148 

Definition and parts of a table 217 

Mineral assemblages in samples of rocks from 

within and around the Taconic allochthon, southwestern 

Massachusetts and adjacent parts of Connecticut and New York 218 

Geographic distribution of Early Jurassic 

ammonites from outcrops in northern and east-central Alaska 219 

Major-oxide and normative mineral 

composition of the Chopawamsic Formation, Virginia 220 

Production from medium and large oil and gas fields of Utah 221 

Thickness of the three parts of the 

Yale Member, Ironwood Iron-Formation, Wisconsin and Michigan 221 

Location, stratigraphic position, and age of phytoclase 

samples from early Mesozoic basins in the Eastern United States 222 

Some English terms and their foreign equivalents 239 

Widths for camera-ready tables 258 

XXll Contents