Water is always on the go, never staying in any one place for too long. It enters a watershed, stays for awhile, and then moves on. Where does it come from? Where does it go? By following the journey of a raindrop through the water cycle and answering these simple questions we learn how water, a magical substance, connects us all!
Beside the air you breathe, water is probably the most important thing in your life. 75% of your body is water. Water covers 75% of the earth's surface. All living things need plenty of clean water to survive. Sometimes we use water as if there was a never ending supply of it. In fact, there is a very definite amount of water in the world. It appears in different forms at different times. We all know about water as a liquid. Ice is the solid form of water. Water can also enter the air as a gas through evaporation.
All water moves through the water cycle. It falls to the ground as precipitation in the form of rain, sleet, or snow. It then flows over or through the land to a body of water such as a river, lake, or underground collection area called an aquifer. As the sun heats the earth's surface, water evaporates into the atmosphere. Plants also contribute water to the air through a process called transpiration. Evenually, the water in the air will condense, falling to the ground once again. This cycle is repeated endlessly.