Spring (hydrology)

Imagine you are holding a balloon that is filled with water. If you poke a small hole in the balloon, water will come out of the hole. The water that comes out is similar to a spring.

A spring is a place where water naturally flows out of the ground. The water that comes out of a spring is called groundwater. When it rains or snows, some of the water soaks into the ground, and this becomes groundwater.

The groundwater can travel through tiny spaces in the ground, kind of like how the water in your balloon flows through the tiny hole. Eventually, the groundwater reaches a place where it can flow back out of the ground, and that's what we call a spring.

Springs can be big or small, and they can be found all over the world. Some people even use natural springs as a source of drinking water because the water is usually clean and safe to drink.