The Geopreservation inventory aims to list the best examples of the wide diversity of natural physical features and processes that characterize each part of New Zealand and document its complex geological/geomorphological history. The inventory was compiled by the Joint New Zealand Earth Science Societies' Working Group on Geopreservation. This working group contains representatives from the geological, geographical, soil sciences, geomorphology, speleological and landscape architect societies and associations.

For each site the inventory gives: an outline of the site's significance; brief geological, landform and locality descriptions; an assessment of the site's importance and vulnerability to human activity; the site's known reserve status; published references and contacts.

• Importance of the geological feature
• Vulnerability of the geological feature

A range of site information is collected including: age of geological feature; description of geological feature; location; access; exposure type; hazards/threats; modifications and reserve status

Graduate earth science students wrote to or visited practicing earth scientists, seeking nominations of the best examples of geological/geomorphological features that those experts were familiar with. The experts were asked to identify the importance/significance of the sites they nominated.

This work is being followed up and maps of the extent of all the features larger than 100m are now available at a scale of 1:50,000. Initially the information was compiled by the type of feature (e.g. geothermal features) which assisted in provision of consistent assessments of sites' importance. The information was then sorted by computer so that it is now regionally organized. Reviews are done by region.

Computer records (regionally arranged)

Publications that provide an inventory of important geological sites and landforms by region or group of regions (some small regions are combined and so there are 12 of these publications.)

• Landforms,2nd ed. 1990. Victoria University Research School of Earth Sciences Occasional Paper 4.
• Active earth deformation sites,1st ed. 1988. MP 38;
• Caves and karst,2nd ed. 1990. MP47.
• Geothermal fields and features, 2nd ed. MP44.
• Quaternary volcanic centres and features of Northland, Auckland, South Auckland and Taranaki, 1st ed. 1992. MP 61.
• Quaternary volcanic centres and features of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, 1st ed. 1991. MP55.
• Igneous geological sites and features, 1st ed. 1990. MP 49.
• Sedimentary geology sites, 1st ed. 1992. MP62.
• Fossil sites, 2nd ed. 1989. Geological Society of New Zealand Unpublished Report 89/1.
• Metamorphic geology sites, 1st ed. 1992. MP 60.;
• Mineral sites, 1st ed. 1991.MP 53.
• Structural geology sites, 1st ed. 1991. MP 54.
• Geologically related historical sites,1st ed. 1991. MP 52.;
• South Island soil sites, 1st ed. 1991. New Zealand Society Soil Science Occasional Publication One;
• North Island Soil Sites, 1st ed. 1993. New Zealand Society Soil Science Occasional Publication 2.

Regional inventories combine information for all types of sites within a region except for soils. All of the 12 regions or combinations of regions have had two publications including an updated edition with maps of larger sites.

A more general publication that describes New Zealand's geological features and landforms and the inventory was prepared in 1996: Hayward, B.W. 1996. Precious land: protecting New Zealand landforms and geological features. Geological Society of New Zealand Guidebook Number 12.