USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

Mineral Resources > Online Spatial Data > Geology > by state > Maryland Geology

Geologic units in Prince George's county, Maryland

Monmouth Formation (Cretaceous) at surface, covers 4 % of this area

Monmouth Formation - Dark gray to reddish-brown, micaceous, glauconitic, argillaceous, fine- to coarse-grained sand; basal gravel in Prince Georges County; thickness 0 to 100 feet.

Lithology: sand; gravel

Wissahickon Formation; Lower Pelitic Schist (Late Precambrian (?)) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Wissahickon Formation; Lower Pelitic Schist - (Formerly mapped as oligoclase facies of Wissahickon Formation.) Medium- to coarse-grained biotite-oligoclase-muscovite-quartz schist with garnet, staurolite, and kyanite; fine- to medium-grained semipelitic schist; and fine-grained granular to weakly schistose psammitic granulite; psammitic beds increase upward; apparent thickness 5,500 feet or more.

Lithology: quartz-feldspar schist; granulite

Potomac Group, including Raritan and Patapsco Formations, Arundel Clay, and Patuxent Formation (Cretaceous) at surface, covers 21 % of this area

Potomac Group - Interbedded quartzose gravels; protoquartzitic to orthoquartzitic argillaceous sands; and white, dark gray, and multicolored silts and clays; thickness 0 to 800 feet. Includes Raritan and Patapsco Formations - Gray, brown, and red variegated silts and clays; lenticular, cross-bedded, argillaceous, subrounded sands; minor gravels; thickness 0 to 400 feet; Arundel Clay - Dark gray and maroon lignitic clays; abundant siderite concretions; present only in Baltimore-Washington area; thickness 0 to 100 feet; and Patuxent Formation - White or light gray to orange-brown, moderately sorted, cross-bedded, argillaceous, angular sands and subrounded quartz gravels; silts and clays subordinate, predominantly pale gray; thickness 0 to 250 feet.

Lithology: gravel; sand; silt; clay or mud

Pamunkey Group; Aquia Formation (Paleocene) at surface, covers 11 % of this area

Pamunkey Group; Aquia Formation - Dark green to gray-green, argillaceous, highly glauconitic, well-sorted fine- to medium-grained sand; locally indurated shell beds; thickness 0 to 100 feet.

Lithology: sand

Wissahickon Formation; Boulder Gneiss (Late Precambrian (?)) at surface, covers 0.6 % of this area

Wissahickon Formation; Boulder Gneiss - (Formerly mapped as Sykesville and Laurel Formations.) Thick-bedded to massive, pebble- and boulder-bearing, arenaceous to pelitic metamorphic rock; typically a medium-grained, garnet-oligoclase-mica-quartz gneiss; locally an intensely foliated gneiss or schist; apparent thickness 15,000 feet.

Lithology: gneiss; schist

Baltimore Gabbro Complex (Late Precambrian (?) - Early Paleozoic ) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Baltimore Gabbro Complex - Hypersthene gabbro with subordinate amounts of olivine gabbro, norite, anorthositic gabbro, and pyroxenite; igneous minerals and textures well preserved in some rocks, other rocks exhibit varying degrees of alteration and recrystallization with a new metamorphic mineral assemblage.

Lithology: gabbro; norite; pyroxenite

Upland Deposits (Western Shore) (Quaternary) at surface, covers 22 % of this area

Upland Deposits (Western Shore) - Gravel and sand, commonly orange-brown, locally limonite-cemented; minor silt and red, white, or gray clay; (includes Brandywine, Bryn Mawr, and Sunderland Formations of earlier reports); lower gravel member and upper loam member in Southern Maryland; thickness 0 to 50 feet.

Lithology: gravel; sand; silt; clay or mud

Chesapeake Group; Calvert Formation (Miocene) at surface, covers 22 % of this area

Chesapeake Group; Calvert Formation - Plum Point Marls Member: Interbedded dark green to dark bluish-gray, fine-grained argillaceous sand and sandy clay; contains prominent shell beds and locally silica-cemented sandstones; and Fairhaven Member: Greenish-blue diatomaceous clay, weathers to pale gray; pale brown to white, fine-grained argillaceous sand; and greenish-blue sandy clay; total thickness 0 to 150 feet.

Lithology: sand; clay or mud; sandstone

Pamunkey Group; Nanjemoy Formation (Eocene) at surface, covers 6 % of this area

Pamunkey Group; Nanjemoy Formation - Dark green to gray, argillaceous, glauconitic, fine- to medium-grained sand; minor gray to pale brown clay; total thickness 0 to 125 feet; Marlboro Clay member at base: Pink to gray, homogeneous plastic clay with local lenses of very fine-grained white sand; thickness 0 to 30 feet; present west of Chesapeake Bay only; total thickness 0 to 125 feet.

Lithology: sand; clay or mud

Lowland Deposits (Quaternary) at surface, covers 13 % of this area

Lowland Deposits - Gravel, sand, silt, and clay. Medium- to coarse-grained sand and gravel; cobbles and boulders near base; commonly contains reworked Eocene glauconite; varicolored silts and clays; brown to dark gray lignitic silty clay; contains estuarine to marine fauna in some areas (includes in part Pamlico, Talbot, Wicomico and Sunderland Formations of earlier reports); thickness 0 to 150 feet.

Lithology: gravel; sand; silt; clay or mud