Linda D. Morse Department of Geology College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, VA 23187  Level: Grades 8  Estimated Time
Required: Three or four 45 minutes class periods  Anticipated
Learning Outcomes  NOTE TO TEACHER: Parts one through four are
background information for teachers. Figures 1 - 5 are to be
copied for students to use. New vocabulary is in bold letters
and has been repeated on the figures.   Part One: Water Table
Aquifer  Figure 1 is a cross-section showing the different soil
layers and zones in a typical water table aquifer setting. A
cross-section is like slicing a layer cake in half and looking
at the layers from a side view. A map view is like looking down
on the layer cake and reading the "Happy Birthday" slogan.
Where does rainwater go after it hits the ground? Some rainwater
may run over the ground surface and flow into a lake or stream.
Some of the water may infiltrate into the soils and with gravity
slowly migrate deeper until it reaches or recharges water-
saturated soils or sediments.