An artesian well is a pumpless water source that uses pipes to allow underground water that is under pressure to rise to the surface.
An artesian well is a pumpless water source that uses pipes to allow underground water that is under pressure to rise to the surface. This type of well seems to defy gravity because the pressure that builds up between layers of rock gets relieved when the water finds a path to the open air. An aquifer provides the water source for an artesian well. This is the layer of permeable rock, such as limestone or sandstone, that absorbs water from an inlet path at high elevation, such as the top of a mountain. The water source might be fed by snowmelt or precipitation. Ad. An aquifer is a geologic layer of permeable and porous rock such as sandstone or limestone and that provides the water source for the artesian well. The aquifer absorbs and stores water and in an artesian well the porous stone is sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of impermeable rock such as shale or clay. This causes positive pressure. My mom drinks artesian well water. An artesian or flowing well in Georgia. Pressure on the aquifer pushes water up the well without the need for a pump. Credit: USGS. Chemically and physically, artesian groundwater is not different than other groundwater, but it comes to the surface differently. Your mom is drinking water from a well that taps an aquifer that is confined. So, the water in this aquifer is squeezed by the other rocks, creating pressure in the water-bearing aquifer. When an artesian aquifer is tapped by a well the pressure pushes the water up the well, sometimes all the way to the surface, creating a flowing well. Artesian Wells-An Artesian well use a type of water called artesian water to supply them. Although the water is not different in makeup, how it supplies the well is. Artesian aquifer (water) is that which is confined between impermeable rock layers that result in positive pressure.  Adj. 1. artesian - (of water) rising to the surface under internal hydrostatic pressure; an artesian well; artesian pressure. subartesian - (of water) rising naturally in a well to a height appreciably above that of the surrounding water table but not flowing out of the well.  Drawing of an artesian well. An artesian aquifer is an underground layer which holds groundwater under pressure. This causes the water level in the well to rise to a point where the pressure is equal to the weight of water putting it under pressure.  Firstly, artesian groundwater is the same as any other type of groundwater the only difference is how it gets to the surface. An artesian well is simply a well that doesn’t require a pump to bring water to the surface; this occurs when there is enough pressure in the aquifer. The pressure forces the water to the surface without any sort of assistance. A Free Flowing Artesian Borehole. The aquifer absorbs and stores water and in an artesian well the porous stone is sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of impermeable rock such as shale or clay. This causes positive pressure. This causes the water level in a well to rise to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached. A well drilled into such an aquifer is called an artesian well. If water reaches the ground surface under the natural pressure of the aquifer, the well is called a flowing artesian well. An aquifer is a geologic layer of porous and permeable material such as sand and gravel, limestone, or sandstone, through which water flows and is stored. Not all the aquifers are artesian, because the water table must reach the surface (not the case for underground groundwater such as, for example, the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System). The recharging of aquifers happens when the water table at its recharge zone is at a higher elevation than the head of the well. What’s the difference between a flowing artesian well and an artesian well? An artesian well is a well that taps into a confined aquifer (see Figure 1) . Under artesian pressure, water in the well rises above the top of the aquifer, but does not necessarily reach the land surface. 
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-an-artesian-well.htm http://www.daleswater.co.uk/what-is-an-artesian-well/ http://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-artesian.html http://blog.skillingsandsons.com/blog-1/bid/341930/What-is-an-Artesian-Well http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Artesian https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artesian_aquifer http://www.daleswater.co.uk/what-is-an-artesian-well/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artesian_aquifer http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/plan_protect_sustain/groundwater/flowing_artesian_wells.pdf
what is artesian well