Groundwater Vocabulary

3. A measure of a material’s ability to transmit water
6. The volume of open spaces in rock or soil
8. The slow movement of water through the pores in rock or sediment (also known as infiltration)
10. Area in an aquifer where all open spaces are filled with water
11. A sinkhole with water in in. The water table is visible here.
13. Impermeable sediment or rock that hinders or prevents groundwater movement
14. A flow of groundwater that emerges naturally at the ground surface
15. Area above the water table where openings in sediment are filled mainly with air
17. The sinking of Earth’s surface due to removal of groundwater
19. Water that is found in the zone of saturation
20. The process that allows water to replenish an aquifer
21. Local lowering of the water table immediately surrounding a well

1. A type of topography consisting of numerous sinkholes and caves
2. A sedimentary rock made from the skeletons of marine organisms. Commonly associated with caves.
4. A pump-less well in which the water rises to the surface because it is under pressure
5. Water that flows over the land
7. icicle-like structure that hangs from the ceiling of a cavern
9. The column-like form that grows upward from the floor of a cavern
12. A fountain of hot water that is periodically ejected
16. A body of saturated sediment or rock in which groundwater can move easily
18. The upper level of the zone of saturation