More than 90% of the planet’s liquid fresh water is not in rivers and lakes but soaking through the pores of soil and rock. The harder a well is pumped, the deeper the water table dimples into a cone of depression, which can drain the neighbouring stream, while a wet enough season recharges the aquifer and lifts the table again. That same groundwater near magma takes a very different branch: superheated water builds pressure and erupts as a geyser on a schedule, the way Old Faithful goes off about every 90 minutes.
More than 90% of the planet’s liquid fresh water is not in rivers and lakes but soaking through the pores of soil and rock. The harder a well is pumped, the deeper the water table dimples into a cone of depression, which can drain the neighbouring stream, while a wet enough season recharges the aquifer and lifts the table again. That same groundwater near magma takes a very different branch: superheated water builds pressure and erupts as a geyser on a schedule, the way Old Faithful goes off about every 90 minutes.
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