What is groundwater?

What is groundwater?

• A. Water stored beneath Earth's surface in soil and rock; includes an aquifer and water table
• B. Water in rivers and streams
• C. Moist air above the ground
• D. Water vapor in the atmosphere

Answer: (D)

Groundwater is water stored beneath Earth's surface in the pores of soil and rocks. It fills underground spaces, sits on top of an aquifer’s saturated zone, and has a where the upper boundary is the water table. It forms when precipitation infiltrates the ground and slowly moves through the subsurface, sometimes being tapped by wells. This is different from surface water in rivers and streams, or from the moist air and water vapor in the atmosphere.

Groundwater is water stored beneath Earth's surface in the pores of soil and rocks. It fills underground spaces, sits on top of an aquifer’s saturated zone, and has a where the upper boundary is the water table. It forms when precipitation infiltrates the ground and slowly moves through the subsurface, sometimes being tapped by wells. This is different from surface water in rivers and streams, or from the moist air and water vapor in the atmosphere.