dataset · United Kingdom
Single Onshore Borehole Index
The Single Onshore Borehole Index (SOBI) is an index of over 1 million boreholes, shafts and wells and references collections of digital and analogue records from all forms of drilling and site investigation work held by the BGS. The index covers onshore and near shore boreholes from Great Britain dating back to at least 1790 and ranging from one to several thousand metres deep. Some 50,000 new boreholes are added each year. The majority of the records contain written descriptions of the ground
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: ["The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in an
Evidence quality: 44.1
Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- borehole, shaft and well index records (over 1 million) · references to digital and analogue drilling and site investigation records held by BGS · written ground descriptions (majority of records) · XML and KML exports of the index · UK Geothermal Platform web map
- Coverage docs-verified
- Great Britain (onshore and near shore boreholes) · records dating back to at least 1790
- Update frequency docs-verified
- continual (about 50,000 new boreholes added each year)
- Formats llm-inferred
- XML · KML
- Access docs-verified
- Available via the BGS website (Geoindex); no price stated. Reuse restricted: NERC copyright, reproduction needs prior permission from the copyright holder. Licence not set.
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Locating existing boreholes and wells near a site for a ground model desk study · Retrieving nearby borehole logs to inform foundation and geotechnical design · Finding groundwater wells and boreholes for a hydrogeological desk study
- Audience llm-inferred
- geotechnical engineers · civils engineers · hydrogeologists · GIS analysts
Limitations
- Constraints docs-verified
- Not all database fields are populated, and some data may sit in the wrong fields (database originated 1988) · Coverage is Great Britain onshore and near shore only · Reuse restricted by NERC/BGS copyright; no warranty on accuracy, and use is at the customer's own risk · Licence not set
Evidence
- https://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex/home.html?layer=BGSBoreholes
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/58f48757-fbaf-4e61-af12-c80408aac894/single-onshore-borehole-index
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.