Infiltration is a process in the water cycle where water moves from the surface into the ground and begins to soak into the soil and rock layers. It happens after precipitation falls from the sky and lands on the ground. The water seeps into the ground where it can be absorbed by the soil and may stay in the soil for a long time until it gradually gets evaporated. If there is a lot of vegetative cover, the infiltrated water can also get absorbed by plant roots and later transpired. Infiltration occurs in the upper layers of the ground but may also continue further downwards into the water table. Depending on how saturated the ground is, the water can continue downwards to replenish water tables and aquifers, which is called percolation. The rate of infiltration depends on factors such as the amount of precipitation, the type of soils, the amount of vegetative cover over the area, pre-saturation levels, the topography of the land, as well as the levels of evapotranspiration in that region.