This section will familiarize you with some basic facts concerning the hydrology of the region. A description of the hydrological cycle will be provided to illustrate the central premise of the water systems. A description of the hydrology of the Great Lakes will then be given to explain where the water comes from. Lastly, some hydrological features of the St. Lawrence will be elaborated upon to show some more detailed phenomena. The hydrological cycle is a term describing the interaction of water with the planet.
Water moves continuously throughout the planet.
This elaborate system of movement is referred to as the hydrological cycle or system . The system has been operating for billions of years between the subsurface to the lower portion of the atmosphere transforming and moving water depending on the environmental conditions. In the hydrological cycle, water precipitates out of the atmosphere and into the oceans or land, where it eventually flows overland or beneath the ground to go back to the oceans. This theory has been confirmed by the fact that the total quantity of water on the planet has remained fundamentally constant since the geological past. The usable fraction of the freshwater is located in rivers, lakes, underground and in the atmosphere.