Hydrostratigraphy of the ORG-393 core hole at Orangeburg, South Carolina

Abstract

Hydrostratigraphic units of the South Carolina Coastal Plain are delineated by using hydrological, lithological, geophysical, and paleontological data from a continuously cored borehole at Orangeburg, S.C. Aquifers are 70 to 284 feet thick and, in ascending order, comprise the McQueen Branch, Crouch Branch, Gordon, and Upper Three Runs. They consist of quartz sand and impure limestone beds of Upper Cretaceous through Oligocene age. Confining units are 25 to 179 feet thick and, in ascending order, comprise the informally named Gramling and the previously named McQueen Branch, Crouch Branch, and Gordon. They consist of interbedded sand and clay, marl, and cemented sandstone and limestone beds of Upper Cretaceous through Eocene age. Hydrogeologic sections illustrate the thickness and lateral continuity of the units in Orangeburg County. Relationships between hydrostratigraphic and stratigraphic units at Orangeburg and the Savannah River Site in Barnwell County to the west are examined.