The presence of the groundwater level (GWL) at the rock mass may significantly affect the mechanical behavior, and consequently the bearing capacity. The water particularly modifies two aspects that influence the bearing capacity: the submerged unit weight and the overall geotechnical quality of the rock mass, because water circulation tends to clean and open the joints. This paper is a study of the influence groundwater level has on the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundations on the rock mass. The calculations were developed using the finite difference method. The numerical results included three possible locations of groundwater level: at the foundation level, at a depth equal to a quarter of the footing width from the foundation level, and inexistent location. The analysis was based on a sensitivity study with four parameters: foundation width, rock mass type (m_i), uniaxial compressive strength, and geological strength index. Included in the analysis was the influence of the self-weight of the material on the bearing capacity and the critical depth where the GWL no longer affected the bearing capacity. Finally, a simple approximation of the solution estimated in this study is suggested for practical purposes.

岩体中地下水位 (GWL) 的存在可能会显着影响力学行为，从而影响承载力。水尤其改变了影响承载能力的两个方面：淹没的单位重量和岩体的整体岩土质量，因为水循环往往会清洁和打开接缝。本文研究了地下水位对浅层地基对岩体的极限承载力的影响。计算是使用有限差分方法进行的。数值结果包括地下水位的三个可能位置：在地基水平，在等于基础水平基础宽度的四分之一的深度，以及不存在的位置。该分析基于具有四个参数的敏感性研究：m _i )、单轴抗压强度和地质强度指数。分析中包括材料自重对承载能力的影响以及 GWL 不再影响承载能力的临界深度。最后，出于实际目的，建议对本研究中估计的解决方案进行简单的近似。