Subsurface flow

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Subsurface flow, in hydrology, is the flow of water beneath Earth's surface as part of the water cycle.

In the water cycle, when precipitation falls on the Earth's land, some of the water flows on the surface forming streams and rivers. The remaining water, through infiltration, penetrates the soil traveling underground, hydrating the vadose zone soil, recharging aquifers, with the excess flowing in subsurface runoff. In hydrogeology it is measured by the Groundwater flow equation.