Frannie loves to learn, and today she wants to teach you what she has learned about the water cycle! Did you know that the water you drink is the same water dinosaurs drank millions of years ago? There's no new water! Water is continually moving through a cycle known as the Hydrologic or Water Cycle.
The Water Cycle is the path water takes through its various states - vapor, liquid, solid - as it moves throughout the oceans, atmosphere, groundwater, streams, etc. All water is connected!
Surface Water is water above the surface of the land including lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, floodwater, and runoff.
Evaporation is the conversion of a liquid (water) into a vapor (a gaseous state) usually through the application of heat energy (the sun) during the water cycle.
Condensation is the process in the water cycle by which a vapor becomes a liquid. Clouds are formed by condensation!
Precipitation is the part of the water cycle when water falls, in a liquid or solid state, from the atmosphere to Earth. Rain, snow, and sleet are all types of precipitation!
Runoff is precipitation that flows over land to surface streams, rivers, and lakes.
Recharge is water added to an aquifer. For example, when rainwater seeps into the ground. Recharge may occur artificially through injection wells or by spreading water over groundwater reservoirs.
Groundwater is water found in the spaces between soil particles and cracks in rocks underground.
Water continues to move through the different stages of the Water Cycle over and over and over again. It never stops! Have you been learning about the Water Cycle? Share what you know at www.groundwater.org/kids/share.html!
