USGS names winners of 2026 student geologic map competition

The U.S. Geological Survey announced the winners of the 2026 Best Student Geologic Map Competition in an announcement published Tuesday 20 October 2026. The competition took place at the Geological Society of America Connects meeting in Denver, CO this past October.

Daniel Vega of Idaho State University won first place. Their poster was titled Geologic Map of the Southern Portion of the Mount Harrison and Connor Ridge Quadrangles, Cassia County, Idaho. The announcement showed Vega in the field reviewing a map on a weathered outcrop of Harrison Summit quartzite with their dog Jasper.

Dylan Frawley of Colorado State University won second place. Their poster was titled Geologic Map of Sand Creek and South Colony Lakes, Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado. The announcement showed Frawley looking for bedding in the Pennsylvanian-Permian Crestone Conglomerate on top of Crestone Peak.

Hunter Broeder of Colorado State University won third place. Their poster was titled Geologic mapping of the Gibson Peak syncline and Crestone thrust, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, southern Colorado: New insights into Ancestral Rocky Mountain deformation along the Northeastern Margin of the Uncompahgre Uplift.

The 2026 competition featured 20 graduate and undergraduate student mappers who presented posters with geologic maps from the U.S., Peru and Tibet. The announcement said the competition highlighted student mapping research and the role of students in the future of geologic mapping.

The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program partners with the Association of American State Geologists, American Institute of Professional Geologists, American Geosciences Institute, Journal of Maps, Geological Society of America, and GSA Foundation to host the competition. The announcement said the next competition would take place at Connects 2027 in Montreal, Canada.