The inaugural GEOSEA was held in 1972 at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was organized by the four co-founding institutions: Geological Society of Malaysia (GSM), Ikatan Ahli Geologi Indonesia (IAGI), Geological Society of the Philippines, and Geological Society of Thailand. Since then, each co-founding institution took turns to host GEOSEA on the rotational basis.

The GEOSEA Secretariat was established in 2009 during the Business Meeting chaired by the President of the Geological Society of Malaysia, Dato’ Yunus Abdul Razak. Activities of the GEOSEA Secretariat are funded by the Geological Society of Malaysia.

The GEOSEA logo comprises a twinned crystal and a geological hammer. The twin crystal represents continuous growth as a single entity, whilst the geological hammer is depicted as solid without joints, reflecting the strength and unity among geoscientists of the region. The logo was created during the early days and a major contributor to the design was Dr. Prinya Nutalaya from the Geological Society of Thailand.

The rectangular GEOSEA flag carries the logo in black on an orange background. The background color is similar to that used in the ASEAN logo, to capture the vision of an ASEAN community of geoscientists. The design of the GEOSEA flag was agreed upon at the Business Meeting of GEOSEA XII, chaired by the President of the Geological Society of Thailand, Mr. Songpope Polachan.