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Aquifers of Alluvial and Glacial Origin

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

1. How should this data set be cited?

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

3. What does it look like?

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

5. What is the general form of this data set?

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set?

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

Why was the data set created?

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

2. Who distributes the data?

3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

5. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

Title: Aquifers of Alluvial and Glacial Origin

Abstract:

This data set represents the extent of the alluvial and glacial aquifers north of the

southern-most line of glaciation. Aquifers are shown in the States of Maine, Vermont,

New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,

Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana.

These data delineate the areal extent of the alluvial and glacial aquifers as defined in

The Ground Water Atlas of The United States (GWA).

Supplemental_Information:

This data set was constructed by combining data created for or from the regional GWA

chapters. Minor aquifers that are important local sources of water were mapped in

some regions, so the regional maps in the GWA may show more detail than this data

set. The juxtaposition of regionally mapped aquifers has led to some instances where

an aquifer outcrop or shallow subcrop is bounded by a State line. This is a result of the

regional mapping and national categorization methods used and is not meant to imply a

hydrogeologic change coincident with a State boundary.

The aquifer outcrop and shallow subcrop boundaries represent broad, regional

categories and should not be interpreted as site-specific. Comments regarding the

names of aquifers or the hydrogeologic interpretation of the aquifers can be directed to

the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Office of Ground Water, Roy

Sonenshein, sunshine@usgs.gov, 305-717-5824.

These data were developed in conjunction with the publication of the GWA. For

documentation purposes, areas are referred to by their corresponding GWA chapter

letter, or by State. This list shows the relationship between State names and GWA

chapters:

HA 730-B Segment 1-California, Nevada

HA 730-C Segment 2-Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona

HA 730-D Segment 3-Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

HA 730-E Segment 4-Texas, Oklahoma

HA 730-F Segment 5-Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi

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HA 730-G Segment 6-Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina

HA 730-H Segment 7-Idaho, Oregon, Washington

HA 730-I Segment 8-Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming

HA 730-J Segment 9-Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin

HA 730-K Segment 10-Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee

HA 730-L Segment 11-Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina,

Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia

HA 730-M Segment 12-Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

Refer to: <http://capp.water.usgs.gov/gwa/gwa.html> for a graphic depiction of the

GWA chapter regions, as well as more information about the GWA.

Although these spatial data can stand alone, it may be helpful to refer to the printed

GWA chapters when using the data. Note that the coastline was drawn from the

National Atlas shoreline files and may not match the coastline shown in the GWA.

Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not

imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended

to document the data set in nonproprietary form, as well as in Arc/INFO format, this metadata file may include some Arc/INFO-specific terminology.

1. How should this data set be cited?

U.S. Geological Survey, 200209, Aquifers of Alluvial and Glacial Origin: U.S.

Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Online Links:

<http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html>

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -112.876108

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -66.162582

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 50.122610

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 35.164778

3. What does it look like?

<http://capp.water.usgs.gov/aquiferBasics/sandgravel.html> (GIF)

Map showing the extent of sand and gravel aquifers of alluvial and glacial origin.

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

Beginning_Date: 1992

Ending_Date: 1997

Currentness_Reference: Publication dates of source materials

5. What is the general form of this data set?

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

a. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS

terminology):

GT-polygon composed of chains (2390)

b. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and

longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000278. Longitudes are given to the

nearest 0.000278. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.

The ellipsoid used is GRS1980.

The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.

The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

Alluvial and glacial aquifer (described by ALVAQFP025.PAT or alvaqfp025.dbf)

A formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that contains sufficient

saturated permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells and

springs, and that is of alluvial and glacial origin. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Shape

The representation of the entity in the data. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Value Definition

Polygon 2-dimensional

element.

Area

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
The size of the shape in coverage units. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Range of values

Minimum: 0.000

Maximum: 29.030

Perimeter

The perimeter of the shape in coverage units. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Range of values

Minimum: 0.037

Maximum: 893.867

ALVAQFP025# or Alvaqfp025

Internal feature number. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Range of values

Minimum: 2

Maximum: 2390

ALVAQFP025-ID (Included in Export format file only.)

User-assigned feature number. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Range of values

Minimum: 0

Maximum: 2388

Rock_type

The code number relating to the rock_name. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Value Definition

100 Number for unconsolidated sand and gravel

aquifers.

999 Number for other rocks.

Rock_name

The name of the permeable geologic material that composes the aquifer.

(Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Value Definition

Unconsolidated sand and gravel

aquifers

Formations composed of loose sand and

gravel.

<blank> Other rocks.

Aq_name

The aquifer unit name. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Value Definition

Aquifers of Alluvial and Glacial

Origin

Aquifers composed of loose sand and

gravel.

<blank> Other aquifers.

Aq_code

The code number relating to the aquifer unit name. (Source: U.S. Geological

Survey)

Value Definition

113 Aquifers of Alluvial and Glacial Origin.

999 Aquifer absent, used for a non-aquifer island inside an aquifer

polygon.

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers,

and editors)

U.S. Geological Survey

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

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Norm Grannemann

U.S. Geological Survey

GWRP Coordinator

6520 Mercantile Way

Lansing, MI 48911

USA

517-887-8936 (voice)

517-887-8937 (FAX)

nggranne@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

These data are intended for use in publications, at a scale of 1:2,500,000 or smaller.

Due to the small scale, the primary intended use is for regional and national data

display and analysis, rather than specific local data analysis.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

GWA HA 730-D19 (source 1 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 1998, Figure 19: Stream-valley aquifer:

Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA 730-D, U.S. Geological Survey,

Reston, VA.

Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file

Source_Scale_Denominator: 7500000

Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.

GWA HA 730-D4 (source 2 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 1998, Figure 4: Coarse-grained glacial deposits,

and stream-valley alluvium: Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA 730-D,

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file

Source_Scale_Denominator: 4000000

Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.

GWA HA 730-I6 (source 3 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 1996, Figure 6: Coarse-grained glacial deposits,

stream-valley alluvium, or basin fill: Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA

730-I, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file

Source_Scale_Denominator: 4000000

Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.

GWA HA 730-J6 (source 4 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 1992, Figure 6: Glacial outwash, coarse-grained

glacial-lake sediment, and coarse- and fine-grained alluvium: Hydrologic

Investigations Atlas HA 730-J, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file

Source_Scale_Denominator: 2500000

Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.

GWA HA 730-K4 (source 5 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 1995, Figure 4: Surficial aquifer system:

Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA 730-K, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston,

VA.

Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file

Source_Scale_Denominator: 2500000

Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.

GWA HA 730-L6 (source 6 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 1997, Figure 6: Sand and gravel aquifers at or

near land surface and alluvium along streams and rivers: Hydrologic

Investigations Atlas HA 730-L, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file

Source_Scale_Denominator: 2500000

Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.

GWA HA 730-M6 (source 7 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 1995, Figure 6: Coarse-grained stratified outwash

and ice-contact deposits: Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA 730-M, U.S.

Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

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Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file

Source_Scale_Denominator: 2500000

Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.

GWA HA 730-M9 (source 8 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 1995, Figure 9: Surficial Aquifer System:

Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA 730-M, U.S. Geological Survey,

Reston, VA.

Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file

Source_Scale_Denominator: 2500000

Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.

ATLAS-HY (source 9 of 10)

U.S. Geological Survey, 199911, Hydrography Features of the United

States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Type_of_Source_Media: Online

Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000

Source_Contribution: Spatial information.

ATLAS-GEO (source 10 of 10)

John C. Reed, Jr., and Bush, Charles A. , 2001, Generalized Geologic Map

of the Conterminous United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.

Type_of_Source_Media: Online

Source_Scale_Denominator: 7500000

Source_Contribution: Spatial information.

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

Date: Aug-2001 (process 1 of 2)

Alluvial and glacial aquifer data were taken from digital files created in Adobe

Illustrator from the individual Ground Water Atlas chapters. The individual chapter

Illustrator files were edgematched and combined into one file. Where polygons ended

at a salt or freshwater shoreline, USGS 2 million-scale digital data were used for the

shoreline. The limit of glaciation was determined from ATLAS-GEO. Where more than

one line exists in an area, the southernmost line was used. The final Illustrator file

was exported into a DXF file.

The remaining steps were completed using ArcGis 8.1 Workstation. The DXF file was

converted to a coverage. Using the TRANSFORM command, the coverage containing

the digitized aquifer extent lines was rubbersheeted to the coverage containing

registration tics, it was then projected from geographic coordinates to the Albers

Equal-Area Conic projection. An RMS error of less than 0.004 was accepted. If the

RMS error was greater than 0.004 the location and values of the latitude/longitude

points were verified.

The coverage was cleaned, the topology was built, and labels were added.

Attributes were added for the aquifer name (AQ_NAME), aquifer code (AQ_CODE),

rock name (ROCK_NAME), and rock type (ROCK_TYPE).

The following items were verified:

--Transformation RMS error (below 0.004)

--Arcs match the scanned film (no gaps between the plot and the

compilation)

--Arc and polygon topology exists

--Coverage has a coordinate system defined

--Attributes aq_name and aq_code have been added and populated

correctly

--Necessary files exist to redo any step

Data sources used in this process:

ATLAS-GEO

GWA HA 730-D19

GWA HA 730-D4

GWA HA 730-I6

GWA HA 730-J6

GWA HA 730-K4

GWA HA 730-L6

GWA HA 730-M6

GWA HA 730-M9

ATLAS-HY

Date: Apr-2002 (process 2 of 2)

This step was done on an NT workstation. After plotting the file at 1:2,000,000, the

lines were checked against the documented sources. If needed, the lines were

corrected to better represent the source data, by either reshaping the arc, digitizing

new lines or polygons, or deleting polygons. The file was converted to NAD83 in

geographic coordinates, and saved in shapefile format.

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
James A. Miller (comp.), 19980701, Principal Aquifers of the 48 Contiguous

United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Online Links:

<http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html>

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?

The source data was checked using standard USGS review procedures. Attributes were

checked by plotting the coverage and reselecting for the different values.

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

This data set represents the extent of the alluvial and glacial aquifers north of the

southern-most line of glaciation. Aquifers are shown in the States of Maine, Vermont, New

Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,

Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana.

The extent is based on the best available printed sources on the subject of aquifer

extents. There is the potential that better data are available at the local level.

5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

Polygon and chain-node topology are present. Every polygon has a label.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints:

None. Acknowledgement of the U.S. Geological Survey and (or) the

National Atlas of the United States would be appreciated in

products derived from these data.

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

Earth Science Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey

507 National Center

Reston, VA 20192

1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747) (voice)

Contact_Instructions:

In addition to the address above there are other ESIC offices throughout the

country. A full list of these offices is at

<http://mapping.usgs.gov/esic/esic_index.html>.

2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system

at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the

U.S. Geological Survey regarding the utility of the data on any other system,

nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. No responsibility

is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.

4. How can I download or order the data?

Availability in digital form:

Data format: ARCE

Network links: <http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html>

Data format: ESRI Shapefile

Network links: <http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html>

Data format: SDTS

Network links: <http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html>

Cost to order the data:

There is no charge for the online option. For National Atlas files ordered on CD-ROM

there is a base price of $45.00 per disc, a handling fee of $5.00, and a per-file

charge based on file size. The charge for files less than 10 megabytes in size is

$1.00. The charge for files that range in size from 10 to 150 megabytes is $7.50. The

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charge for files of 150 megabytes or larger is $15.00. The charge is $1.00 for the

Aquifers of Alluvial and Glacial Origin data set.

Special instructions:

To order files on CD-ROM, please see

<http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html#q12>.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 17-Jan-2003

Metadata author:

U.S. Geological Survey

c/o Chief, Cartography and Publishing Programs

505 Science Drive

Madison, WI 53711

USA

608-238-9333 (voice)

608-238-9334 (FAX)

Metadata standard:

FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

National Atlas of the United States®

and The National Atlas of the United States of America®

are registered trademarksof the United StatesDepartment of the Interior

Privacy Statement, Disclaimer,Accessibility, FOIA

http://nationalatlas.gov/metadata/alvaqfp025.faq.html

Last modified: Thursday, 27-Jan-2011 16:45:25 CST

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