Landscapes (Mitchell) of NSW version 2

NSW Landscapes maps were constructed in 2002 from existing data and have a strong geologic, geomorphic and pedologic base. They do not include field validation/original mapping. Scale and reliability was constrained to 1:250,000 scale by the availability of suitable state-wide maps, although some source data (airphotos/maps) were more detailed. In the Western Division topography, geology and in particular land system mapping meant that landscapes mapping substantially better because a more uniform and informative data-base. Some blending of different environments may occur in the Riverina/eastern edge of land system maps where boundaries between different source materials were merged along subcatchment lines. In the Eastern and Central Divisions there was a patchy coverage of soil landscape, land system and vegetation maps of different scales and ages meant that these maps were largely used to verify interpretations. The weakest element of the interpretation in the Eastern and Central Divisions was the variable quality of geological maps. The source of some digital geology maps could not be determined, some map sheets differ greatly from paper maps and were abandoned. Also there is a large number of coding errors. Hard copy maps were used if they were more recent or in place of incorrect digital data. Even most recent maps contained errors. Some matching problems along boundaries occurred and if possible resolved using most recent or independent information. Independent knowledge of locations and or extensive field checking needed to correct these. A transect of map sheets was compared with other data during the mapping, it is believed reasonable product consistency has been attained. P.B.Mitchell (2002) NSW Ecosystems Study: Background and Methodology (Unpublished).