Water · a Light

Zamzam is a shallow well in a dry valley floor

The well of Zamzam sits about twenty metres east of the Kaaba, in the bed of the Wadi Ibrahim. It is roughly thirty metres deep. The upper part passes through the loose sand and gravel that the valley floor is made of, and the lower part is cut into fractured rock, which is where most of the water enters. Pilgrims once drew it by bucket, then by hand pump. Today the well head is sealed below the circumambulation floor, the water is pumped, treated with ultraviolet light and piped to taps and to a bottling plant at Kudai. The Saudi Geological Survey monitors the water level continuously, because heavy pumping during Hajj draws it down and it recovers afterwards.

Wadi Ibrahim, Makkah