Water Cycle
Follow water's amazing journey as it continuously moves between oceans, atmosphere, and land
Beautiful landscape showing all stages of water cycle - ocean, clouds, rain, rivers
The same water that falls as rain today once flowed in ancient rivers, filled dinosaur drinking holes, and might have been inside a cloud over the Amazon rainforest! The water cycle is Earth's amazing recycling system that continuously moves water between oceans, atmosphere, and land in an endless loop.
The Never-Ending Journey
The water cycle has no beginning or end - it's a continuous process powered by energy from the sun! Water constantly moves through different states (liquid, gas, solid) and different places (oceans, clouds, rivers, underground) in a journey that has been happening for billions of years.
Evaporation: Water's Great Escape
Evaporation happens when the sun heats water and turns it into invisible water vapor that rises into the atmosphere. Most evaporation occurs from oceans, but it also happens from lakes, rivers, and even puddles! You can't see water vapor, but it's always in the air around you.
Condensation: How Clouds Form
Condensation happens when water vapor in the atmosphere cools down and turns back into tiny liquid droplets. These droplets cluster around microscopic particles of dust or pollen in the sky, forming the clouds we see. It's like the reverse of evaporation!
Precipitation: Water Returns to Earth
Precipitation occurs when water droplets in clouds become too heavy to stay in the air and fall back to Earth. Depending on the temperature, this can be rain (liquid), snow (ice crystals), sleet (partially frozen), or hail (ice balls formed in storms).
The water cycle connects every living thing on Earth - the water you drink today has been cycling through our planet for millions of years, making this the ultimate recycling system!
