100 urgent

the water cycle: groundwater discharge (image below)

there's more water than just what you can see

you see water all around you every day as lakes, rivers, ice, rain and snow. there are also vast amounts of water that are unseen—water existing in the ground. and even though groundwater is unseen, it is moving below your feet right now. as part of the water cycle, groundwater is a major contributor to flow in many streams and rivers and has a strong influence on river and wetland habitats for plants and animals. people have been using groundwater for thousands of years and continue to use it today, largely for drinking water and irrigation. life on earth depends on groundwater just as it does on surface water.

there are rivers flowing below our feet a myth?

have you ever heard that there are rivers of water flowing underground? do you think it is true? actually, it is pretty much a myth. even though there are some caverns, lava and ice tubes, and horizontal springs that can carry water, the vast majority of undergroundwater occupies the spaces between rocks and subsurface material. some rivers, such as the alapaha river in northern florida, usa, can disappear underground during low-flow periods. generally, water underground is more like water in a sponge. it occupies the spaces between soil and rock particles. at a certain depth below the land surface, the spaces between the soil and rock particles can be totally filled with water, resulting in an aquifer from which groundwater can be pumped and used by people.

courtesy of the u. s. geological survey

is there missing or extraneous information in this diagram? are all of the details in the text relevant and accurate? explain using details from the text.