Updated: May 17, 2022
By Maryland Geological Survey

Ground Water and Wells In the Maryland Coastal Plain

Maryland’s Coastal Plain aquifer system lies within the Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province which includes eastern and southern areas of Maryland (figure 1). A relatively thick wedge of largely unconsolidated sediments underlies Maryland's Coastal Plain. The sediments consist predominantly of sand, gravel, silt, and clay, ranging in age from Cretaceous to Quaternary, and overlie consolidated rocks of Precambrian, Lower Paleozoic, Jurassic(?), and Triassic age (Andreasen and others, 2013). The sediments dip gently to the east and southeast with thickness ranging from a few tens of feet near the Fall Line to approximately 7,200 ft at Ocean City, Maryland (figure 2).

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