Water evaporates from the ocean and other water sources. As the water vapor rises, it cools and condenses . The water gathers into clouds, growing larger and heavier, until they fall from the sky in the form of precipitation . As the water comes to the Earth's surface it will either infiltrate or runoff . Plants absorb water from the soil and release part of it through their leaves by a process called transpiration .
Many people believe that the ocean floor is flat.
It might surprise you that the features of the ocean floor vary as much as the features above water. The ocean meets land at the continental shelf . This area of the ocean contains nutrients, marine life, and warm water. The continental slope drops sharply off of the continental shelf. The abyssal plain bottom of the ocean.