Aquifer

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An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material consisting of permeable, porous, or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology. Related concepts include aquitard, a bed of low permeability along an aquifer, and aquiclude (or aquifuge), a solid and impermeable region underlying or overlying an aquifer, the pressure of which could lead to the formation of a confined aquifer. Aquifers can be classified as saturated versus unsaturated, aquifers versus aquitards, confined versus unconfined, isotropic versus anisotropic, and porous, karst, fractured, or transboundary. Groundwater from aquifers can be sustainably harvested by humans through the use of wells. This groundwater is mainly used for agricultural purposes but is used for other reasons such as home or industrial use. Groundwater is a major source of fresh...

Read on Wikipedia · Image T.C. Winter, J.W. Harvey, O.L. Franke, and W.M. Alley, Public domain