Where does land subsidence occur in the United States?
Increased demands on our ground-water resources have overstressed aquifers in many areas of the Nation. Increased withdrawals of ground water can result in ground-water depletion, which can influence land subsidence. Ground-water depletion occurs at scales ranging from a single well to aquifer systems underlying several states. The extents of the resulting effects depend on several factors including pumpage and natural discharge rates, physical properties of the aquifer, and natural and human-induced recharge rates. As this map shows, many areas in the United States are susceptible to land subsidence. Information is from the U.S. Geological Survey’s land subsidence in California Web page.
