Principal Aquifers
North AmericaPhysical EnvironmentLocations of various aquifers in North America, including consolidated rock aquifers, which are made up of mostly volcanic rocks in the Northwest and mostly sandstone and limestone elsewhere; combination aquifers, which are sand and gravel aquifers overlying productive rock aquifers; and productive aquifers, which have a 0.4 liter/second potential
Geosystems: Intro to Physical Geography
A map highlights the principal aquifers across North America, categorized into three types.
Consolidated rock aquifers, shaded in green, are predominantly found in northern Canada, including regions like Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, and extending into parts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Also found in the northern Canada regions like Victoria Island, Parry Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and Ellesmere Island, also extending to Southern regions like Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Halifax. Combination aquifers, shaded in orange, are primarily located in the central and eastern United States, covering areas in states like Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota, and extending to parts of the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast, including New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Productive aquifers, also shaded in light green, are found in regions of Florida and across the western United States near Oregon.
Consolidated rock aquifers | Combination aquifers | Productive aquifers | Lowest hazard | Low hazard | Moderately low hazard | Moderate hazard | Moderately high hazard | High hazard | Highest hazard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yukon | 83.0% | |||||||||
Northwest Territories | 37.6% | |||||||||
Nunavut | 2.51% | |||||||||
Nova Scotia | 29.2% | |||||||||
Prince Edward Island | 77.5% | |||||||||
Saskatchewan | 11.0% | |||||||||
New Brunswick | 50.2% | |||||||||
Newfoundland and Labrador | 5.25% | |||||||||
Alberta | 6.33% | |||||||||
Québec | 1.02% | |||||||||
Manitoba | 2.62% | |||||||||
Ontario | 5.05% | |||||||||
Alaska | 2.85% | 1.92% | 2.33% | 38.6% | 2.01% | 5.60% | 5.27% | |||
Arizona | 5.15% | 6.30% | 79.1% | 4.42% | ||||||
Utah | 2.03% | 12.7% | 56.8% | 6.12% | 1.39% | |||||
District of Columbia | 55.6% | 100% | ||||||||
Florida | 25.3% | 1.48% | 87.3% | 10.9% | ||||||
Idaho | 1.85% | 6.13% | 2.22% | 24.8% | 28.3% | 9.56% | ||||
New Hampshire | 39.4% | 60.3% | ||||||||
Rhode Island | 93.7% | |||||||||
Vermont | 81.9% | 18.1% | ||||||||
Washington | 1.17% | 25.6% | 38.5% | 19.2% | 5.52% | 10.1% | ||||
Wyoming | 3.58% | 5.20% | 20.2% | 63.6% | 8.78% | |||||
Montana | 1.34% | 20.1% | 5.22% | 15.0% | 22.0% | 2.02% | ||||
Maine | 63.3% | 7.54% | ||||||||
North Dakota | 3.00% | 6.69% | 98.6% | 1.38% | ||||||
Kentucky | 8.30% | 7.69% | 64.8% | 10.2% | 7.55% | 1.03% | 3.57% | |||
Virginia | 8.27% | 1.50% | 39.8% | 49.9% | 5.34% | |||||
Delaware | 98.6% | 80.2% | 18.7% | |||||||
Mississippi | 99.6% | 46.6% | 33.2% | 16.6% | 3.37% | |||||
West Virginia | 1.96% | 66.8% | 33.2% | |||||||
Nebraska | 75.9% | 33.8% | 2.42% | 1.45% | ||||||
Texas | 27.0% | 54.2% | 29.7% | 7.88% | ||||||
Missouri | 56.4% | 8.53% | 41.8% | 23.6% | 11.8% | 7.42% | 1.26% | 5.55% | ||
Louisiana | 98.6% | 6.85% | 90.8% | 1.03% | ||||||
Hawaii | 7.50% | 6.67% | 9.71% | 4.93% | 52.2% | |||||
North Carolina | 7.59% | 5.87% | 47.3% | 35.4% | 9.17% | 1.38% | ||||
Oregon | 1.21% | 1.53% | 1.50% | 41.7% | 13.0% | 4.40% | 4.75% | |||
Alabama | 4.32% | 2.82% | 40.6% | 43.3% | 7.23% | |||||
New Mexico | 4.90% | 2.15% | 7.73% | 4.90% | 54.5% | 8.67% | ||||
Kansas | 1.62% | 5.11% | 42.9% | 9.98% | ||||||
Wisconsin | 12.5% | 1.43% | 95.7% | 4.01% | ||||||
British Columbia | 59.8% | 2.06% | ||||||||
New Jersey | 58.8% | 17.9% | 69.2% | 10.9% | ||||||
South Carolina | 30.0% | 2.54% | 22.6% | 58.4% | 8.92% | 2.25% | 7.66% | |||
Michigan | 16.1% | 16.3% | 74.0% | 24.1% | ||||||
Connecticut | 2.14% | 98.9% | ||||||||
Pennsylvania | 11.6% | 85.9% | 14.1% | |||||||
Colorado | 2.33% | 2.58% | 5.33% | 26.1% | 34.0% | 32.6% | ||||
Nevada | 1.63% | 2.87% | 6.24% | 61.7% | 15.9% | 6.20% | 1.29% | |||
Massachusetts | 79.0% | 15.4% | ||||||||
Georgia | 2.57% | 17.9% | 4.38% | 39.2% | 43.9% | 10.4% | 1.79% | |||
New York | 3.15% | 31.8% | 35.5% | 13.6% | 7.01% | |||||
Maryland | 34.3% | 87.1% | 10.7% | |||||||
Oklahoma | 1.97% | 2.69% | 43.3% | 42.2% | 13.7% | |||||
Tennessee | 17.6% | 28.9% | 15.6% | 11.5% | 1.92% | 8.15% | ||||
California | 4.23% | 1.35% | 3.21% | 9.22% | 1.48% | 1.10% | 28.4% | |||
Arkansas | 15.9% | 17.3% | 39.7% | 21.2% | 1.93% | 2.11% | 7.50% | |||
South Dakota | 10.3% | 6.62% | 27.5% | 53.6% | 8.87% | |||||
Ohio | 15.0% | 85.3% | 2.10% | 1.52% | ||||||
Indiana | 11.6% | 50.5% | 36.9% | 9.25% | 3.12% | |||||
Minnesota | 2.27% | 3.62% | 99.1% | |||||||
Iowa | 2.05% | 92.6% | 7.45% | |||||||
Illinois | 33.0% | 3.68% | 52.5% | 18.5% | 13.6% | 11.9% | 1.07% | 1.91% | ||