What is the difference between a well and a cistern?
Wells and cisterns both provide water, but they do it in different ways. A cistern is a container which is used for the purpose of storing water; cisterns can be found in various sizes all over the world, both above and below ground. A well, on the other hand, taps into a supply of groundwater, such as a spring or underground stream. Wells are built by digging into the Earth and inserting reinforcements so that the sides of the well do not collapse. Both cisterns and wells have been used for centuries. Many people historically took advantage of the sites of natural springs to build settlements, and as the springs started to fail, they dug out around them to tap the vein of groundwater which supplied the spring, creating early wells. To access the water in the well, people lowered buckets which could be filled with water and pulled up. Ultimately, electric pumps were developed to extract water from wells. Later, people sunk wells in areas that they thought would yield a good supply of g
