| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Aquifer | Rock or sediment through which groundwater moves easily. |
| Aquitard | An impermeable bed that hinders or prevents groundwater movement. |
| Capillary fringe | A relatively narrow zone at the base of the zone of aeration. Here water rises from the water table in tiny, threadlike openings between grains of soil or sediment. |
| Darcy's law | An equation stating that groundwater discharge depends on the hydraulic gradient, hydraulic conductivity, and cross-sectional area of an aquifer. |
| Gaining stream | Streams that gain water from the inflow of groundwater through the streambed. |
| Geyser | A fountain of hot water ejected periodically from the ground. |
| Groundwater | Water in the zone of saturation. |
| Hydraulic conductivity | A factor relating to groundwater flow; it is a coefficient that takes into account the permeability of the aquifer and the viscosity of the fluid. |
| Hydraulic gradient | The slope of the water table. It is determined by finding the height difference between two points on the water table and dividing by the horizontal distance between the two points. |
| Losing stream | Stream that loses water to the groundwater system by outflow through the streambed. |
| Perched water table | A localized zone of saturation above the main water table, created by an impermeable layer. |
| Permeability | A localized zone of saturation above the main water table, created by an impermeable layer. |
| Porosity | The volume of open spaces in rock or soil. |
| Spring | A flow of groundwater that emerges naturally at the ground surface. |
| Unsaturated zone | The area above the water table where openings in soil, sediment, and rock are not saturated but filled mainly with air. |
| Water table | The upper level of the saturated zone of groundwater. |
| Zone of saturation | The zone where all open spaces in sediment and rock are completely filled with water. |
| Zone of soil moisture | A zone in which water is held as a film on the surface of soil particles and may be used by plants or withdrawn by evaporation. The uppermost subdivision of the unsaturated zone. |
| Artesian well | A well in which the water rises above the level where it was initially encountered. |
| Cone of depression | A cone-shaped depression in the water table immediately surrounding a well. |
| Drawdown | The difference in height between the bottom of a cone of depression and the original height of the water table. |
| Well | An opening bored into the zone of saturation. |
| Cavern | A naturally formed underground chamber or series of chambers most commonly produced by solution activity in limestone. |
| Karst topography | A type of topography formed on soluble rock (especially limestone) primarily by dissolution. It is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage. |
| Sinkhole | A depression produced in a region where soluble rock has been removed by groundwater. |
| Speleothem | A collective term for the dripstone features found in caverns. |
| Stalactite | The icicle-like structure that hangs from the ceiling of a cavern. |
| Stalagmite | The column-like form that grows upward from the floor of a cavern. |
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