Publications  and  Downloads

Some PGS publications can still be purchased in their original paper format.  Prices and shipping/handling costs are noted in the Availability column below.  For those that are not available in paper, you can download a PDF version which is viewable with Adobe Acrobat Reader.  Just click on 'View PDF' in the Availability column. Note that these are large files and are best downloaded with a faster connection.  Some are scans of the original guidebooks, so the quality of text is not optimal.

For more information or to purchase any of the in-print PGS publications, contact: 
John A. Harper
Pennsylvania Geological Survey
400 Waterfront Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4745
Telephone: (412) 442-4230
Fax: (412) 442-4298
jharper.pgs@gmail.com

Please be aware that when field trips are designed, permission to enter sites is requested from the landowners. Safety equipment is also used by field trip participants. Some of the field trip stops are in dangerous or high traffic areas. Therefore, the PGS recommends caution and responsible behavior if our field trip guides or field trip guides from other sources are used.

​The following should be noted:
  1. PGS acquired permissions to enter sites, both privately and publicly owned, and anyone using these guides is advised to do the same, providing they don't wish to be arrested for trespassing.
  2. While the guidebook information was accurate at the time of printing, the quality or accuracy of the information may have changed over time. It should be noted that although some of the older publications may no longer be accurate, their historical significance can be especially valuable.
  3. Safety practices (hardhats, steel-toed boots, and safety glasses) are fostered on PGS field trips and readers are encouraged to do the same as serious injury can result from carelessness. Nobody benefits from a rock shard to the eye or a cascade of rocks on the head. PGS waives responsibility for the use or misuse of these guidebooks. ​
YOU MUST OBTAIN PERMISSION BEFORE ENTERING PRIVATE PROPERTY, HIGHWAY STOPS, OR RAILROAD CUTS.
PUBLICATIONS (LISTED CHRONOLOGICALLY) AVAILABILITY
Geology of the Northern Portion of the Appalachian Basin (1948) 
 Pittsburgh Geological Society, 1948,. Guidebook, AAPG Midyear Meeting, Pittsburgh, October 4-9, 1948,121 p. 		 View PDF
Guidebook, 16th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists (1950) 
Pittsburgh, May 26-28, 1950 by A. I. Ingham, W. S. Lytle, F. Preston, C. E. Prouty, and R. E. Sherrill, 1950, 47 p.		 View PDF
Geologic Cross-Section Across Northern Ohio (1953) 
 J. F. Pepper, G. T. Thomas, and J. R. Lockett, 1953, Pittsburgh Geological Society, scale approx.  1 in. = 11 mi. 		 Out of Print
Field Guidebook of Appalachian Geology, Pittsburgh to New York (1955)
 Pittsburgh Geological Society, 1955, Guidebook, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Annual Meeting, New York, 1955, 119p 		 View PDF
Tectonics and Cambro-Ordovician Stratigraphy in the Central Appalachians of Pennsylvania (1963) 
 W. R. Wagner and R. P. Nickelsen, 1963, Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society and Appalachian Geological Society Field Conference, September, 1963, 129 p. 		 View PDF
A Field Guide to Allegheny Deltaic Deposits in the Upper Ohio Valley with a Commentary on Deltaic Aspects of Carboniferous Rocks in the Northern Appalachian Plateau (1969) 
 J. C. Ferm and V. V. Cavaroc, 1969, Guidebook, Ohio Geological Society and Pittsburgh Geological Society, Spring Field Trip, 1969, 19 p. 		 View PDF
Environmental Geology in the Pittsburgh Area (1971) 
 R. D. Thompson, ed., 1971, Guidebook, Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, 1971, Field Trip 6, 47 p. 		 4.00 +1.50 S&H
Lots of Danger: A Property Buyer's Guide to Land Hazards of Southwestern Pennsylvania (1977) 
 J. L. Freedman, ed., 1977, Pittsburgh Geological Society, 85 p. 		 $4.00+1.50 S&H
Land Use and Abuse: The Allegheny County Problem (1980)  
 W. R. Adams, R. P. Briggs, H. F. Ferguson, N. K. Flint, and W. S. Skinner, 1980, Guidebook, 45th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, Pittsburgh, October 3-4, 1980, 116 p.		 View PDF
Geology of the Lowermost Venango Group (Upper Devonian) Southeastern Fayette County, Pennsylvania (1984)
Harper, J.A. and Laughrey, C.D.,  Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, June 16, 1984, 43 p.		 View PDF
Stratigraphic Analysis of Carboniferous Rocks in Southwestern Pennsylvania Using a Hierarchy of Transgressive-Regressive Units (1984)
Brezinski, D. K., and Busch, R. M., 1984,.  Guidebook, AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Pittsburgh, October 13-14, 1984, 104 p.		 View PDF
The Geology of the Johnstown Area (1985)
Uldis Katkins and William Brice, 1985,.  Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, May 4, 1985, 28 p.		 View PDF
Geology of McConnells Mill and Moraine State Park Areas (1990) 
 D. W. Watson, 1990, Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society Spring Field Trip, May 19, 1990, variously paginated.		 View PDF
Fossil Collecting in the Pittsburgh Area (1990) 
 J. A. Harper, 1990, Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society Summer Field Trip, July 29, 1990, 50 p. 		 View PDF
Subway, Tunnels and Scenery: The Trolley Through Time (1991) 
 R. P. Briggs and C. D. Parke, 1991, Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society Spring Field Trip, April 27, 1991, 34 p.		 View PDF
Measuring and Predicting Reservoir Heterogeneity in Complex Deposystems: The Late Cambrian Rose Run Sandstone of Eastern Ohio and WesternPennsylvania (1993)
 R. A. Riley, J. A. Harper, M. T. Baranoski, C. D. Laughrey, and R. W. Carlson, 1993, Appalachian Oil and Natural Gas Research Consortium, West Virginia University, 257 p. 		 $10.00 
+2.00 S&H
1994 Spring Field Trip Field Guide to Monroeville Landfill, Monroeville, PA (1994)
P. J. Hutchinson and J. Santangelo, 1994, Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society Spring Field Trip, May 21, 1994, 22 p. 		 Out of Print
Pittsburgh Geological Society Golden Anniversary (1945-1995) Field Guide Book (1995)
P. J. Hutchinson, ed., Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society Spring Field Trip, May, 1995, 		View PDF
Cambrian and Ordovician Rocks of the Birmingham Area, Blair and Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania (1996)
J. A. Harper, C. D. Laughrey, and B. Tormey, 1996, Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society Spring Field Trip, May 4, 1996, 54 p.		 View PDF
The Atlas of Major Appalachian Gas Plays (1996)*
 J. B. Roen and B. J. Walker, eds., 1996, West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey Publication V-25, 201 p.		 Out of Print
Gas Atlas Database*
(a digital ASCII file of data on 5,100 Appalachian reservoirs to accompany The Atlas of major Appalachian Gas Plays) J. B. Roen and B. J. Walker, eds., 1996, West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey Publication V-25.		 Out of Print
Conquest of the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania: The Engineering Geology of Forbes Road, 1758-1764 (1997)
 R.P. Briggs, 1997, Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society Spring Field Trip, May, 1997, 29 p. plus l3 p. of illustrations. 		 View PDF
Pleistocene Lake Monongahela and the Carmichaels Formation in Southwest Pennsylvania (1998)
 Jack Donohue and Brian Kirchner, Guidebook, ittsburgh Geological Society Spring Field Trip, May 2, 1998, 15 p		 View PDF
The Geology of Pennsylvania (1998)
C.H. Shultz, ed., 1998, co-published by the Pittsburgh Geological Society and the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 900+ pages. 		 Out of Print
Rocks, Oil, Gravel, Iron: The Bedrock, Surficial, and Economic Geology of Venango County PA (1999)
J.A. Harper and A.N. Ward, Jr., Guidebook, Pittsburgh Geological Society Spring Field Trip, May, 1997, 42 p.		 View PDF
Pittsburgh Geological Fieldtrip in the Morgantown Area WV (2000)
 H. Rauch, N. Fedorko, L. Avary, R. Smosna , May 6, 2000, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 41 p.		 View PDF
Pittsburgh at the Millennium: the Impact of Geoscience on a Changing Metropolitan Area (2000)
 John A. Harper, ed., October 5-6, 2000, 65th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists Guidebook, 163 p. 		View PDF
The Geology, Environmental Geology, and Engineering Geology of Western Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2001)
 Wendell L. Barner, Brian Green, and Chuck Shultz, May 5, 2001, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 94 p.		 View PDF
History & Geology of Allegheny Portage Railroad, Blair and Cambria Counties, PA (2002)
 John Harper, May 11, 2002, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 41 p.  		 View PDF
Field Guide to the Middle Eocene Igneous Rocks of Pendleton County, WV and Northern Highland County, VA (2003)
 R.R. McDoweel, K.L. Avary, and D.L. Matchen, April 26, 2003, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 37 p.		 View PDF
Building Pittsburgh - A Walking Tour of Pittsburgh's Building Stones (2003)
J. Neelan, C.H.Shultz, R.Burger, J. Harper, J. Smith, April 2003, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 47 p.  		 $5.00 + 1.50 S&H
Penn Dixie Paleontological and Outdoor Education Center and Niagara Gorge (2004)
Chuck Shultz, April 30-May 1, 2004, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 19 p.  		 View PDF
An Examination of Field Methods for Glacial Margin Mapping and Paleoflood Reconstruction in Slippery Rock Creek Basin, Western Pennsylvania (2004)
Gary D'Urso, Patrick A. Burkhart, Jack Livingston, and Christine Iksic, October 2004, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 28 p.  		 View PDF
Tales of the French and Indian War Along Forbes Road (2008)
Albert Kollar, May 3, 2008, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 30 p.  		 View PDF
History and Geology of the Oil Regions of Northwestern Pennsylvania (2009)
 John A. Harper, Ed., October 8-10, 2009, 74th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists Guidebook, 180 p.		 View PDF
Geology of the Pennsylvanian-Permian in the Dunkard Basin (2011)
 John A. Harper, ed., September 29-October 1, 2011 76th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists Guidebook, 335 p.		 View PDF
A Geological Excursion Into Southwestern Pennsylvania: The Masontown Kimberlite Intrusion and The Bedrock and Surficial Geology of the Carmichaels Area (2013)
 John A. Harper and Henry S. Prellwitz, April 20, 2013, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 62 p.		 View PDF
History and Geology of the Pennsylvania Mainline Canal (Western Division) in southern Indiana County PA (2017)
Karen Rose Cercone, April 8, 2017, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 15 p.  		 View PDF
Geology of the Early Iron Industry in Fayette County (2018)
John A. Harper and Albert D. Kollar, May 26, 2018, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 71 p.  		 View PDF
Geology and Archeology of Meadowcroft Rockshelter and the Multiple Ice Ages of Southwestern Pennsylvania (2019)
Mary Ann Gross, John A. Harper, and Albert D. Kollar, September 7, 2019, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook, 62 p.  		 View PDF
Interstate Route 79 and Toms Run Nature Reserve Landslide Areas North of the Ohio River and Northwest of Pittsburgh (2022)
James V. Hamel, March 2022, Pittsburgh Geological Society 75th Anniversary Field Guide, 85 p.  		 View PDF