Simplified cross-section of the Virginia Coastal Plain showing conceptualized geology of homogeneous and heterogeneous aquifers, confining units, and confining zones.
Virginia Coastal Plain Aquifer systems
Detailed Description
The Virginia Coastal Plain is the relatively flat region east of the fall line characterized by a wedge of coarse permeable sediments with interbedded layers of less-permeable silts and clays that thickens towards the east. The region has multiple layered aquifers, including the Potomac aquifer system.
In the Virginia Coastal Plain, about 75% of groundwater withdrawn from aquifers comes from the Potomac aquifer system, the deepest of Eastern Virginia's aquifers. The Potomac aquifer system is composed of loose sediments, with less permeable clay layers distributed throughout, and is relied upon for residential, commercial, and industrial water use.
Modified from McFarland and Bruce (2006) and Matterson et al. (2013b).
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
Modified from:
- McFarland, R.E., & Scott, B.T., 2006, The Virginia Coastal Plain Hydrogeologic Framework: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1731, https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1731
- Masterson, J.P., Pope, J.P., Monti, Jack, Jr., Nardi, M.R., Finkelstein, J.S., and McCoy, K.J., 2015, Hydrogeology and hydrologic conditions of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina (ver. 1.1, September 2015): U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2013–5133, 76 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20135133.
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Virginia Coastal Plain Aquifer Geology
Simplified cross-section of the Virginia Coastal Plain showing conceptualized geology of homogeneous and heterogeneous aquifers, confining units, and confining zones.
Related
Land Subsidence on the Virginia Coastal Plain
Land subsidence is a loss of ground elevation, often experienced as the ground slowly sinking over the course of years. In eastern Virginia, high rates of groundwater use is a major factor in the land subsidence affecting the area. The Virginia-West Virginia Water Science Center, with the help of our partners, has been monitoring land subsidence in the Virginia Coastal Plain since 1979 using a...
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Virginia Coastal Plain Aquifer Geology
Simplified cross-section of the Virginia Coastal Plain showing conceptualized geology of homogeneous and heterogeneous aquifers, confining units, and confining zones.
Simplified cross-section of the Virginia Coastal Plain showing conceptualized geology of homogeneous and heterogeneous aquifers, confining units, and confining zones.