Aquifer

aquifer (ăk`wĭfər): see artesian well.

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aquifer

In hydrology, a rock layer or sequence that contains water and releases it in appreciable amounts. The rocks contain water-filled pores that, when connected, allow water to flow through their matrix. A confined aquifer is overlain by a rock layer that does not transmit water in any appreciable amount or that is impermeable. There probably are few truly confined aquifers. In an unconfined aquifer the upper surface (water table) is open to the atmosphere through permeable overlying material. An aquifer also may be called a water-bearing stratum, lens, or zone.

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aquifer

a porous deposit of rock, such as a sandstone, containing water that can be used to supply wells

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aquifer [′ak·wə·fər]

(geology)

A permeable body of rock capable of yielding quantities of groundwater to wells and springs.

(hydrology)

A subsurface zone that yields economically important amounts of water to wells.

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aquifer

A water-bearing formation of gravel, permeable rock, or sand that is capable of providing water, in usable quantities, to springs or wells.

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Aquifer 

a stratum or several strata of water-permeable rock, whose pores, cracks, or other cavities are filled with groundwater. Several aquifers hydraulically connected to each other form an aquifer complex.