An aquifer is defined as which of the following?

An aquifer is defined as which of the following?

• A. A surface water body
• B. A body of permeable rock that can contain groundwater
• C. An impermeable clay layer
• D. A man-made reservoir

Answer: (B)

An aquifer is an underground layer of permeable rock or sediment that stores and transmits groundwater. The key idea is that the material has enough porosity to hold water and enough permeability to let it flow, so water can move through the rock and be drawn up by wells. This is why it’s described as groundwater stored in and moving through a permeable underground unit. It’s not a surface water body like a lake or river, and it isn’t an impermeable clay layer that blocks water movement. It also isn’t a man-made reservoir, which stores surface water rather than groundwater. In practice, aquifers can be unconfined, with the water table close to the surface, or confined, trapped between impermeable layers, with recharge from surface infiltration.

An aquifer is an underground layer of permeable rock or sediment that stores and transmits groundwater. The key idea is that the material has enough porosity to hold water and enough permeability to let it flow, so water can move through the rock and be drawn up by wells. This is why it’s described as groundwater stored in and moving through a permeable underground unit. It’s not a surface water body like a lake or river, and it isn’t an impermeable clay layer that blocks water movement. It also isn’t a man-made reservoir, which stores surface water rather than groundwater. In practice, aquifers can be unconfined, with the water table close to the surface, or confined, trapped between impermeable layers, with recharge from surface infiltration.