=The amount of ground-water.=—The porosity of surface rocks varies widely, and the porosity of but few has been determined.[97] Such determinations as have been made are chiefly on building stones, in which the range of porosity varies from a fraction of one percent., in the case of granite, to nearly 30 percent. in the case of some sandstones. Building stone is perhaps more dense than the average surface rock. Furthermore, such tests as have been made do not take account of the larger cracks and openings of rock, for these would not appear in the specimens tested; nor of the mantle rock, which generally contains a large amount of water. From such determinations as have been made it is estimated that the average porosity of the outer part of the lithosphere is somewhere between 5 and 10 percent. If the porosity diminishes regularly to a depth of six miles, where it becomes zero, the average porosity to this depth would be half the surface porosity.[98] An average porosity of two and one-half percent. would mean that the rock contains enough water to form a layer nearly 800 feet deep. With an average porosity of 5 percent., this figure would be doubled.[99] While these figures are not to be regarded as measurements, they perhaps give some idea of the amount of ground-water. It is this sphere of ground-water which justifies the term _hydrosphere_, as applied to the waters of the earth. =Fate of ground-water.=—Most of the water which sinks into the earth reaches the surface again after a longer or shorter journey. Some of it is evaporated from the surface directly; some of it is taken up by plants and is passed by them into the atmosphere; some of it issues in the form of springs; some of it seeps out; some of it is drawn out through wells; and much of the remainder finds its way underground to the sea or to lakes, issuing as springs beneath them. A small portion of the descending waters enters into permanent combination with mineral matter. Many minerals are known to take up water, being changed thereby from an anhydrous to a hydrous condition. It does not necessarily follow, however, that the total supply of water is thereby decreasing. Minerals once hydrated may be dehydrated subsequently, the water being set free. Furthermore, considerable quantities of water in the form of vapor issue from volcanoes, and volcanic vents often continue to steam long after volcanic action proper has ceased. It is probable that some, and perhaps much of the water issuing from these vents has never been at the surface before, and it is not now possible to affirm that the supply from this source does not offset, or even surpass, the depletion of the hydrosphere resulting from mineral hydration. THE WORK OF GROUND-WATER. Ground-water effects very considerable results in the course of its history. These results are partly chemical and partly mechanical, the former being far more important than the latter.