These features that make up the framework of the aquifers affect the quantity and quality of ground water throughout the State.
Surficial aquifers are present in each of the physiographic provinces.
In the Coastal Plain Province, the surficial aquifers consist of intermixed layers of sand, clay, and limestone. These aquifers are semiconfined locally in the coastal area. In the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Provinces, rocks are complex and consist of structurally deformed metamorphic and igneous rocks. Ground water is transmitted through secondary openings along fractures, foliation, joints, contacts, or other features in the crystalline bedrock. In the Valley and Ridge Province, ground water is transmitted through both primary and secondary openings in folded and faulted sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age.