A new full-color geologic map of Dickinson County showing rocks that transition from the Flint Hills to the Smoky Hills, as well as the broad Smoky Hill River valley and adjacent sand hills, is available from the Kansas Geological Survey, based at Kansas University.

The map is the first detailed geological map of the county and an important addition to the Kansas Geological Survey’s decades-long geologic mapping effort, interim director Rex Buchanan said Friday, in an announcement from KU.

Now-retired Kansas Geological Survey geologist James McCauley mapped the county’s surface geology, which is dominated by limestone and shale layers that range in age from Permian to Cretaceous, according to KU.

Surficial geologic maps highlight the type and age of rock layers and unconsolidated sediments found on the surface or immediately below the vegetation and soil. The map also has a three-dimensional quality that accentuates the area’s topography.

Dickinson County is in central Kansas. The county seat is Abilene.