GeoRef
The American Geosciences Institute's index — the core database for the earth sciences.
At a Glance
- Publisher
- American Geosciences Institute (AGI)
- Coverage
4.5M+ references to geoscience journals, maps, reports, theses, and conference papers, with North American coverage from 1666 and worldwide from 1933 (verify current counts).
- Access
Institutional subscription via EBSCO, ProQuest, or GeoRef's own platform.
- Free alternative
- Google Scholar; USGS Publications Warehouse for U.S. survey reports.
- Regional
Global; deepest and oldest coverage of North American geology.
Our Take
GeoRef is the field-standard index for the earth sciences — geology, geophysics, mineralogy, paleontology, and their neighbours — with an unusually deep historical reach and coverage of the maps, field reports, and theses that geoscience depends on and that journal indexes handle poorly. For a comprehensive literature search in the earth sciences it is the precision tool. The trade-offs are the familiar ones: paid, discipline-specific, and accessed through several host platforms. Use it as your specialist geoscience index; pair with Scopus or Web of Science for citation metrics and cross-disciplinary reach.
Power Tips
- Use it to find geologic maps, survey reports, and theses that general indexes do not catalog.
- Lean on its deep back-catalogue for the historical geology of North America.
- Pair with Scopus or Web of Science when you need citation counts GeoRef does not provide.
Alternatives & Complements
Scopus, Web of Science, USGS Publications Warehouse, Google Scholar
Figures last verified: June 15, 2026