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Geodatabase of the datasets that represent the five vertical subunits of the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas

Published by U.S. Geological Survey | Department of the Interior | Metadata Last Checked: January 27, 2026 | Last Modified: 2020-11-17T00:00:00Z
This geodatabase contains spatial datasets that represent the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system in the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Included are: (1) polygon extents; datasets that represent the aquifer system extent, the entire extent subdivided into subareas or subunits, and any polygon extents of special interest (outcrop areas, no data available, areas underlying other aquifers, anomalies, for example), (2) altitude, and/or if applicable, thickness contours used to generate the surface rasters, (3) raster datasets for the altitude of each aquifer subarea or subunit, (4) georeferenced images of the figures that were digitized to create the altitude or thickness contours. The images and digitized contours are supplied for reference. The extent of the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system is from the combined digitized linework of the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system extent maps in U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1416-C (USGS PP 1416 C), plates 9, 10, 11, 14, and 16, figures A. Included is the "no data available" extent of Subarea 2 (see description below). The Coastal Lowlands aquifer system has 5 aquifer subunits, A = shallowest, B, C, D, E = deepest. There are two subareas. Subarea 1 is the area described in USGS PP 1416-C. Subarea 2 is the part of the aquifer in Alabama and Florida, east of the USGS PP 1416-C extent; there are no data for this subarea. The altitudes of the top surfaces of the subunits were digitized from georeferenced images of altitude contours; the altitudes of the bottom surfaces of the subunits were generated from the thickness contours of each subunit. Subunit A1 (Holocene - upper Pleistocene deposits, Permeable Zone A) Subunit A2 (lower Pleistocene - upper Pliocene deposits, Permeable Zone B) Subunit A3 (lower Pleistocene - upper Miocene deposits, Permeable Zone C) Subunit A4 (middle Miocene deposits, Permeable Zone D) Subunit A5 (lower Miocene - upper Oligocene deposits, Permeable Zone E) Digitizing of the extent and thickness/altitude linework was done by the USGS Oklahoma Water-Science Center. Subunit thickness datasets, and altitude datasets were interpolated into surface rasters within a GIS using tools that create hydrologically correct surfaces from contour data, derives the altitude from the thickness (depth from the overlying surface), and merges the subareas into a single surface. The primary tool was "Topo to Raster" used in ArcGIS, ArcMap, Esri 2014

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