This animation of preferential pathway infiltration shows how water moves into the soil reaching depth rapidly without the surface having to become saturated.

The right panel shows the soil moisture content at each depth as measured using time domain reflectometry. The panel on the left shows a simulation of regions of saturation inferred from dye stained pathway analysis that has been constructed by relating dye intensity to measured soil moisture content at each depth. For details see: Weiler, M. and F. Naef, (2003), "An Experimental Tracer Study of the Role of Macropores in Infiltration in Grassland Soils," Hydrological Processes, 17: 477-493, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.1136.