The injection of gases into liquid saturated porous media is of theoretical and practical interest (e.g., air sparging for the removal of volatile organic compounds from contaminated aquifer sediments). The influence of the rate of gas delivery and the vertical distance from the source are developed. The concept of a "near-injection region" is presented in which the pressure gradients exceed buoyant gradients and thus exhibits largely radial flow. The near-injection size is shown to have an area required to carry the injected gas flow under unit gradient. The parabolic movement of gas outside of this area which has often been observed is explained as reflecting the sum of many realizations of gas channels following random lateral movements as they precede upward independent of flux. These concepts are confirmed through comparison with published and experimental data of air injection into slabs consisting of saturated sands of a range of textures.