GENERAL GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -In the zone of saturation, water exists within the interstices and is known as ground-water. This is the most important zone for a ground water hydraulic engineer, because he has to tap out this water. Water in this zone is under hydrostatic pressure.

Detailed explanation-2: -The unsaturated zone, immediately below the land surface, contains water and air in the open spaces, or pores. The saturated zone, a zone in which all the pores and rock fractures are filled with water, underlies the unsaturated zone. The top of the saturated zone is called the water table (Diagram 1).

Detailed explanation-3: -Some of the water that moves down from the surface is intercepted by rock and earth materials and is checked in its downward progress. The zone in which this water is held is known as the unsaturated zone, and the water itself is called vadose or suspended water.

Detailed explanation-4: -The saturated zone beneath the water table is called an aquifer. Aquifers are huge storehouses of groundwater. There are two types of aquifers: unconfined and confined. Unconfined aquifers are those into which water seeps from the ground directly above the aquifer.

Detailed explanation-5: -The intermediate zone is between the lower edge of the soil water zone and the upper edge of the capillary zone. The capillary zone extends from the bottom edge of the intermediate zone to the upper edge of the saturated zone.