毛细上升区(Capillary fringe)是指一些比地下水位还高的时候。通常是因为在地下水和土壤的交界处有一些毛状的裂缝，而产生毛细现象。通常这种毛细现象只有几英吋而已。

The capillary fringe is the subsurface layer in which groundwater seeps up from a water table by capillary action to fill pores. Pores at the base of the capillary fringe are filled with water due to tension saturation. This saturated portion of the capillary fringe is less than total capillary rise because of the presence of a mix in pore size. If pore size is small and relatively uniform, it is possible that soils can be completely saturated with water for several feet above the water table. Alternately, the saturated portion will extend only a few inches above the water table when pore size is large. Capillary action supports a vadose zone above the saturated base within which water content decreases with distance above the water table. In soils with a wide range in pore size, the unsaturated zone can be several times thicker than the saturated zone.