The Mississippi embayment — Where Does the Water Come From?
As the animation begins, the land surface of the Mississippi embayment fades away to reveal underground geologic formations (shown as shades of blue, brown, and gray surfaces). A slice deep into the earth cuts off the eastern half of the embayment so we can peer into the formations (aquifers) beneat...

The Mississippi embayment — a look underground
Water, oil, and gas wells (shown as green lines) are drilled to hundreds or thousands of feet below land surface in an area known as the Mississippi embayment. Information gathered from these wells was used to create a 3D computer model of underground formations. Many of these formations (shown as s...