The ground above the water table (the pink area) may be wet to a certain degree, but it does not stay saturated. Here is a simplified diagram showing how the ground is saturated below the water table (the solid blue area at the bottom). ![]() Water in the saturated groundwater system moves slowly and may eventually discharge into streams, lakes, and oceans. The part that continues downward through the soil until it reaches rock material that is saturated is groundwater recharge. Some part of the precipitation that lands on the ground surface infiltrates into the subsurface. Groundwater is a part of the natural water cycle (check out our interactive water cycle diagram). Water at very shallow depths might be just a few hours old at moderate depth, it may be 100 years old and at great depth or after having flowed long distances from places of entry, the water may have been in the ground for several thousand years. This water may occur close to the land surface, as in a marsh, or it may lie many hundreds of feet below the surface, as in some arid areas of the western United States. It is not always accessible, or fresh enough for use without treatment, and it's sometimes difficult to locate or to measure and describe. Some water underlies the Earth's surface almost everywhere, beneath hills, mountains, plains, and deserts. In fact, there is a over a thousand times more water in the ground than is in all the world's rivers and lakes. They (and maybe you) may not realize that there is an immense amount of water in aquifers below the earth's surface. ![]() they pull down a lever and out of the ground below their feet comes clear, cool freshwater. These kids probably think there is some kind of magic happening here. Children using a pump to draw waterout of the ground.
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