Water cycle

The water cycle, or hydrological cycle, is the cycle that water goes through on Earth."The Water Cycle". Dr. Art's Guide to Planet Earth. Archived from the original on 2011-12-26. Retrieved 2006-10-24.Water cycle. 

Overview

Water is essential for life as we know it. It is present throughout the Solar System, and was part of the Earth from its formation. The source of the water was the same as the source of the Earth's rock: the cloud particles which condensed in the origin of the Solar System.Van Andel, Tjeerd H. 1994. New views on an old planet: a history of global change Chapter 14. 2nd ed, Cambridge. 

Processes

This is the process that water starts and ends in the water cycle.

 The cycle starts when water underground of the Earth evaporates. Evaporation means the sun heats the water which turns into a gas
 Then, water gathers as water vapour in the sky. This makes clouds
 Next, the water in the clouds gets cold. This makes it become liquid again. This process is called condensation
 Then, the water falls from the sky as rain, snow, sleet or hail. This is called precipitation
 The water sinks into the surface and also collects into lakes, oceans, or aquifers. It evaporates again and continues the cycle
 This whole process in which water evaporate and falls on the land and later flows back in river and pond is known as water cycle

Human activities affecting water cycle

 Industry
 Agriculture
 Deforestation
 Dam construction
 Removing groundwater from wells
 Taking water from rivers

Related pages

 Rock cycle
 Geophysics
 Hydrosphere
 Carbon cycle
 Coriolis effect
 Ecohydrology

References

cycle
Category:Weather
Category:Environmental science
Category:Environmental chemistry