With a few exceptions the artesian wells of Kent County have obtained satisfactory water, but at Rockhall a 400-foot well encountered water high in iron, and at Chestertown the deep well procured salt water. These facts suggest that deep drilling may prove unprofitable, although elsewhere throughout the Coastal Plain of Maryland the Lower Cretaceous water horizons have yielded large supplies and usually of good quality.

Non-Artesian Waters

SPRINGS. Aside from small springs at various points and liable to more or less seasonable fluctuations there is one of good size along the Sassafras River at Betterton. This spring, known as the Idlewhile, has attracted considerable attention and is extensively advertised by the owner of the Idlewhile Hotel. The spring has a flow of about 25 gallons per minute and is reported to have had a constant volume during the last 40 years. It emerges in a small depression near the shore and the water probably comes from a sand bed in the Magothy formation. The construction of a wall about the spring and of a small house over it excludes dirt and surface water.

SHALLOW WELLS.-The majority of the inhabitants of Kent County utilize shallow wells for their water supply since water is usually obtainable in sufficient quantities for domestic or farm use at inconsiderable depths, is generally of good quality, and because of the equably distributed rainfall is dependable at all seasons of the year.

In the lower areas along the Bay and up the Chester River, as at Melitota, Tolchester, Sandy Bottom, Crosby, Edesville, Rockhall, and as far up the river as Millington, variable but usually sufficient amounts of water are found in the Talbot formation at depths ranging from 8 to 25 feet. Naturally these wells exhibit a variety of conditions reflecting their local environment, since the shallow water table is the direct result of downward seepage from the rainwater falling on the surface of the ground. In some places the water is pure and wholesome and free from organic or mineral matter. Elsewhere the water may be so high in iron or organic matter as to be unfit for use. The Talbot water is thus very

accessible supply and usually ample and of good quality, but very susceptible to local surface conditions and also liable to marked fluctuations during especially wet or dry seasons.

The broad level surface of the Wicomico terrace which forms the central and eastern part of the county, like the Talbot, comprises a thin mantle of sand and loam which like the Talbot stores the water which falls as rain on its surface. The water table is generally somewhat lower than on the Talbot terrace and the wells must be sunk somewhat deeper, striking their first water zone at the base of the Wicomico formation at depths varying with the surface topography and ranging from but 12 feet at Worton to the more common depth around 30 feet.

The Wicomico water, like the Talbot, is accessible and usually ample and of fair quality, although frequently hard. The older geological formations, already mentioned in the introductory paragraph on the geology of the county, lie so near the surface that they are readily tapped by comparatively shallow wells. In the northern part of the county along Sassafras River and in the northwestern part along the Bay the wells penetrate the Upper Cretaceous formations. At Betterton, where the wells vary in depth from 40 to 80 feet, an ample supply of good water is obtained from the Magothy formation. A well at Coleman, 70 feet deep, draws from this same horizon.

In the region underlain by the Aquia formation of the Eocene, it is only necessary to go to shallow depths to obtain Eocene water. At Galena three wells at different elevations strike Aquia water at from 40 to 60 feet. At Kennedyville, Morgnec, and Sandy Bottom this same water horizon is found at from 50 to 65 feet. At Chestertown the public supply wells penetrate this zone at from 58 to 70 feet, while at Millington, where the surficial formations are thick and are underlain by the Calvert it was necessary to go down 100 feet to strike the Aquia water zone. All the Eocene wells have a noticeable head, the Kennedyville well rising to within 4 feet of the surface. This Eocene water seems to be consistently hard but not otherwise objectionable. There should be no difficulty in finding this water in the southern part of the county and it should be especially

* Tapped 4 feet above creek, at which point it flows slightly.

valuable since it is not deeply buried and because it will be more dependable and not so easily depleted a supply as the surface waters of the Pleistocene, and by proper locating the water should be brought within easy pumping distance of the surface.

The public supply wells at Chestertown and one of the wells at the ice plant, 99 feet deep, probably all draw from the Eocene, although at different levels.

As previously mentioned, the southeastern part of Kent County is underlain by the Calvert formation of the Miocene which in Southern Maryland and on the lower Eastern Shore is a most important artesian horizon. It is unimportant in Kent County but is sometimes utilized by shallow wells in this part of the county.

QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY

Queen Anne's County, lying betwen the low divide of the DelawareMaryland peninsula and Chesapeake Bay, is a region of low relief. Its surface, which is essentially an unbroken, undulating plain, rises from tide level to an average height of about 70 feet for all except the extreme western part of the county. Locally the surface may rise to between 80 and 90 feet. The stream valleys are broad and shallow and rapidly widen into estuaries.

GEOLOGY

Except for a broad terrace along the Chester River and in the stream valleys, the surface of the whole county east and northeast of Queenstown is formed by the sands and loams of the Wicomico formation, and the flat upper surface of this formation has been called the Wicomico plain or terrace. Bordering the stream channels and forming the surface of the western end of the county are the similar sands and loams of the Talbot formation, constituting a similar plain lying at a lower level and separated from the higher Wicomico plain by a well-defined scarp of about 10 feet in height. Both of these are of late Pleistocene age and have suffered little erosion so that their essentially level surfaces of deposition are still preserved. Immediately beneath these surficial deposits and underlying the whole county, except the northern extremity of Kent Island, are the sands, clays, and marls of the Calvert formation, the oldest Miocene deposits found in Maryland. These are only exposed at the surface in limited areas in the stream valleys, but lie at shallow depths and afford important supplies of water. Beneath the Calvert but nowhere exposed at the surface, except at a few points along the Chester River in the northern part of the county, is the Aquia formation of the Eocene, comprising in this region about 30 feet of glauconitic sands. Lying still deeper and nowhere reaching the surface within the limits of the county are the successively older formations of the Upper and Lower Cretaceous whose essentially sandy constitution make them important sources of deepseated artesian waters.

SURFACE WATERS

The only large stream is the Chester River which forms the northwestern boundary of the county. Its water is brackish and receives the drainage of inhabited areas and is therefore not potable. The smaller streams are either tidal estuaries, such as Corsica River and Wye River, or are contaminated by drainage and contain but small amounts of water, which is not utilizable.