In sandy soil, the movement of water is more

• A. Only Horizontal
• B. Only Vertical
• C. More Horizontal Than Vertical
• D. More Vertical Than Horizontal

Answer: (D)

In sandy soil, gravity-driven downward flow dominates because sand has large, coarse pores that don’t hold water by capillarity as strongly as finer soils. When water infiltrates, it moves quickly downward through those pores, so vertical percolation is the main path. Horizontal movement requires a sustained lateral hydraulic gradient, which is usually small in a uniform sandy layer, so water tends to spread less sideways. In short, the combination of rapid downward flow and weak capillary rise makes water move more vertically than horizontally in sandy soil.