•Liquid (water) to a Gas•Energy comes from the SUN

Evaporation

•Gas changes to a liquid

Condensation

•The water falls back to the Earth as rain, snow, sleet, etc

Precipitation

• Plants draw in water from the soil through their roots.

• Eventually the water drawn from the soil is given off through the plant’s leaves as water vapor in a process called transpiration.

Transpiration

• Water that fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock layers is known as groundwater.

• Far more fresh water is located underground than in all of the earth’s rivers and lakes.

• Water trickles down through the spaces between particles of rock and soil.

Groundwater

Tributaries – Flow is downward towards the main river due to the force of gravity. All the tributaries together along with the river itself make up a “river-system.”

Surface Water

• Just as water in a bathtub flows toward the drain, all the water in a river system drains into a main river.

• Watersheds are also known as: “drainage basins”

• The land area that supplies water to a river system is called a watershed

Watersheds

-Ponds and lakes form when water collects in hollows and low-lying areas of land.

Where does water come from?-Rainfall, melting snow/ice, and runoff. Some

lakes and ponds are fed by rainfall or even groundwater.

Ponds and Lakes

1.) Marsh – are usually grassy areas covered by shallow water or a stream. (ex: Washington State)

2.) Bogs – Are covered with mosses and have acidic water. (often form in depressions left by melting ice sheets, and are found mainly up north in cooler areas)

3.) Swamps – are similar to a flooded forest, containing murky dirty water with moss and many trees sprouting out from the water. (ex: Louisiana Swamp)

Types of Wetlands