Agroscope and the Federal Office for the Environment have published the first Geochemical Soil Atlas of Switzerland. It provides an overview of the large-scale distribution of 20 naturally occurring chemical elements in Swiss soils. The soil atlas will help the cantonal environmental protection agencies assess soil pollution levels and take action where necessary. The Geochemical Soil Atlas is based on soil analyses with a resolution of around one sampling site per 35 km2. As such, plot-level information cannot be derived from it. The regional distribution of element concentrations is visualised in maps which are available on the Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo website and in the Swiss geographic catalogue geocat.ch.