Surveying is the process a Culture uses to seek out valuable resources and mark them for use. Surveying allows a Culture to see resources on the main screen (only those they have discovered appear) and is at the heart of building a burgeoning society. Cities, equipment and armies need resources to build and maintain and surveying is the key to this. Covering everything from explorers to satellite mapping this technology advances as the Culture gains strength and knowledge.

It allows the building of a Prospecting Camp as well, to draw Precious Metals from rivers. Surveying also reveals to the Culture a number of basic resources that they can then harvest and use to build their great civilisation.