The water-bearing layer of the earth is an aquifer.

What is a water bearing?

: yielding or holding water : laden with percolating water : permeable by water water-bearing strata.

What is the term for a water bearing layer of soil?

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). ... The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology.