Geography & Earth
Advanced

Darcy's Law

Rate of groundwater flow through porous rock.

Formula

Q=−KAΔhLQ = -KA\frac{\Delta h}{L}

Variables

KHydraulic conductivity
AArea
\Delta h/LHead gradient

Example

Doubling the slope of the water table doubles the flow

Did You Know?

Darcy derived his law in 1856 while designing fountains for the French city of Dijon; it still underpins all hydrogeology.

hydrologygroundwaterflow