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Subsurface flow
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<p>Subsurface flow, in <a href="/facts/Hydrology/Xh727cnE">hydrology</a>, is the flow of water beneath Earth's surface as part of the <a href="/facts/Water_cycle/wALHdKjJ">water cycle</a>. </p><p>In the water cycle, when <a href="/facts/Precipitation_(meteorology)/uq3nGQc8">precipitation</a> falls on the Earth's land, some of the water flows on the surface forming <a href="/facts/Stream/S5he7Cuo">streams</a> and <a href="/facts/River/GxdjEX21">rivers</a>. The remaining water, through <a href="/facts/Infiltration_(hydrology)/p4n7qhVy">infiltration</a>, penetrates the soil traveling underground, hydrating the <a href="/facts/Vadose_zone/5j4Y2SsJ">vadose zone</a> soil, <a href="/facts/Groundwater_recharge/el8C40xD">recharging</a> <a href="/facts/Aquifer/UwG6ksdG">aquifers</a>, with the excess flowing in subsurface runoff. In <a href="/facts/Hydrogeology/4HEanFa0">hydrogeology</a> it is measured by the <a href="/facts/Groundwater_flow_equation/rWNgxLGb">Groundwater flow equation</a>. </p>