US Principal Aquifers and Groundwater Regions Geospatial Data

U.S. Geological Survey NAWQA Program compiled digital data sets describing principal aquifers, surficial geology, and groundwater regions. The data covers the conterminous 48 United States, sourced from the National Atlas and Heath's 1984 groundwater regions report. Compilation was supported by the National Water-Quality Assessment Program for national data analysis.

Use Cases

• Delineate principal aquifer boundaries for regional groundwater vulnerability assessments using aquifer polygon features.
• Analyze the relationship between surficial geology layers and groundwater recharge potential.
• Classify and study hydrological processes within defined ground-water regions from the Heath (1984) source.
• Create base maps for national water-quality studies by integrating coastline and state boundary modifications.

Strengths

• Data compiled by the authoritative U.S. Geological Survey NAWQA Program.
• Integrates multiple classic sources including the National Atlas and a dedicated groundwater regions study.
• Covers the entire conterminous United States for national-scale analysis.

Limitations

• Data excludes Alaska and Hawaii, limiting national coverage.
• Source materials date from 1970 to 1990, potentially lacking modern geological updates.
• Specific row counts, column details, and spatial resolution are not provided in the description.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program.

Collection Method

Compilation and digitization from 'The National Atlas of the United States of America' (USGS, 1970; Hunt, 1979) and 'Ground-Water Regions of the United States' (Heath, 1984), with coastline modifications from USGS boundary data.

Time Range

Source materials range from 1970 to 1990.

Geography

Conterminous 48 United States.