The three faces of geological computer contouring

Three aspects of successful contouring with the computer are geologic interpretation, data, and the program or algorithm. All of these are important and must be considered jointly to combine good procedures with appropriate software, but interpretation is a critical requirement for mapping geologic variables. Several acceptable, though different, maps could be drawn with a given program and set of observations, so the map that best honors geologic concepts and interpretation is most desirable. Many computer-mapping projects are flawed because one of these three aspects is ignored.