For Pamphlets, Map Sheets, Plates, and other print publications

Disclaimer of Warranties

No express or implied warranty of any kind is made regarding the information contained herein, including, but not limited to, the warranty of merchantability, warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, or warranties of content, completeness, accuracy, reliability, usefulness, or that use would not infringe on privately-owned rights.

Use at Your Own Risk

The information presented here is intended for use as a general screening tool in community planning or for creating awareness and understanding of geologic information and is neither intended to constitute advice nor is it to be used as a substitute for site-specific advice from a licensed professional. You use this information at your own risk and should not act (or refrain from acting) based upon the information without independently verifying the information and, as appropriate, obtaining professional advice regarding your particular facts and circumstances.

Limitation on Liability

User agrees there shall not be liability on the State of Washington, Washington Department of Natural Resources, or their officers, agents, representatives, or employees for any damages allegedly resulting from any use of or reliance on this information. Under this limitation, there shall be no liability for any damages whatsoever, including but not limited to any damages in contract or tort for compensatory, consequential, punitive, direct, indirect, or special damages such as personal injuries, property damage, loss of profits, or any other losses or expenses.

No Endorsement

Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring. Further, the views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the State of Washington or any agency thereof.

For Digital Data Series databases

Disclaimer of Warranties

No express or implied warranty of any kind is made regarding the digital information contained herein, including, but not limited to, the warranty of merchantability, warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, or warranties of content, completeness, accuracy, reliability, usefulness, or that use would not infringe on privately-owned rights. Although these digital data and metadata have been processed successfully on computers of WGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by WGS regarding the use of these data on any other system, nor does the fact of distribution constitute or imply any such warranty.

Use at Your Own Risk

The information presented here is intended for use as a general screening tool in community planning or for creating awareness and understanding of geologic information and is neither intended to constitute advice nor is it to be used as a substitute for site-specific advice from a licensed professional. You use this information at your own risk and should not act (or refrain from acting) based upon the information without independently verifying the information and, as appropriate, obtaining professional advice regarding your particular facts and circumstances.

Limitation on Liability

User agrees there shall not be liability on the State of Washington, Washington Department of Natural Resources, or their officers, agents, representatives, or employees for any damages allegedly resulting from any use of or reliance on this information. Under this limitation, there shall be no liability for any damages whatsoever, including but not limited to any damages in contract or tort for compensatory, consequential, punitive, direct, indirect, or special damages such as personal injuries, property damage, loss of profits, or any other losses or expenses.

No Endorsement

Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring. Further, the views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the State of Washington or any agency thereof.

All of the materials we produce (publications, digital content, posters, videos) are free for you to use in any way you choose, for both commercial and non-commercial purposes, including modifying or adapting anything, as long as you cite us. For example, if you would like to use an image from our website or from one of our publications, you can do so by including the words "Image from the Washington Geological Survey (Washington Department of Natural Resources)" near the image.

All of the datasets available for viewing on the Geologic Information Portal have officially been published as 'Digital Data Series'. This means that if you would like to cite something you see on the Geologic Information Portal, you will need to cite that particular Digital Data Series.

To find the citation, identify the layer of interest in the Table of Contents and look just to the right of the name of the layer. You will see three stacked lines. Click on this and go down to Metadata. Click Metadata and in the screen that you now see, you should be able to find an entry labeled 'Other Citation Details'. This is how you can reference that data.

For example: Washington Geological Survey, 2023, Surface geology, 1:24,000--GIS data, January 2023: Washington Geological Survey Digital Data Series DS-10, version 3.2, previously released November 2019. https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/ger_portal_surface_geology_24k.zip

To cite lidar data from the Washington Lidar Portal, you'll need to cite the original dataset. Here is an example of a citation and how to put one together:

Washington Geological Survey, 2023, Olympics Wali 2022 project [lidar data]: originally contracted by Washington Dept. of Natural Resources. [accessed Nov. 12, 2022, at http://lidarportal.dnr.wa.gov]

This citation is a combination of:

• The first part is the Washington Geological Survey, as we are the curator of the data.
• Next is the year of publication (not the year the data were collected).
• The third piece is the name of the collection project, which will contain the year the project was flown.
• [lidar data] is placed after the title to indicate what type of citation this is.
• Include who originally contracted the data to be flown, as this is usually not the Washington Geological Survey.
• At the end of the citation, indicate the rough date when you accessed the data, as it's possible it could change between then and when the reader is seeing the citation.
• End the citation with a link to the Washington Lidar Portal.