1. Water Cycle Vocabulary
Rusty Sturken
Duluth Middle School
Sixth Grade Earth Science

2. Water Cycle
The continuous process by which water moves from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back, passing through the living and nonliving parts of the environment

3. Water Cycle

4. Water Vapor (Water Vapor)
Water Vapor is the invisible, gaseous form of water.

5. Water Vapor (Water Vapor)
Make sure you understand that fog and clouds are NOT water vapor, they are made of tiny droplets of condensed water. WATER VAPOR IS INVISIBLE
Photos by Rusty Sturken

6. Groundwater
Water that fills the cracks and pores in underground soil and rock layers

7. Groundwater http://www.epa.gov/bioiweb1/images/hydrocyc.gif

8. Evaporation
The process by which molecules at the surface of a liquid, such as water, absorb enough energy to change to a gaseous state, such as water vapor.

9. Evaporation

10. Transpiration
The process by which plants release water vapor through their leaves

11. Transpiration

12. Condensation
The process by which a gas, such as water vapor, changes to a liquid, such as water

13. Condensation

14. Precipitation
Forms of water, such as rain, snow, sleet or hail that fall from clouds and reach Earth’s surface

15. Precipitation

16. Irrigation
The process of supplying water to areas of land to make them suitable for growing crops

17. Irrigation

18. Photosynthesis
The process by which plants use water, plus carbon dioxide and energy from the sun, to make food

19. Photosynthesis

20. Watershed The land area that supplies water to a river system
( think of “drainage basin”)

21. Watershed

22. Levee
A long ridge formed by deposits of sediments alongside a river channel

23. Levee

24. Reservoir
A natural or artificial lake that stores water for human use.

25. Reservoir

26. Eutrophication
The process by which nutrients in a lake build up over time, causing an increase in the growth of algae

27. Eutrophication

28. Pores
Tiny openings in and between particles of rock and soil that may contain air or water

29. Pores

30. Permeable
Characteristic of materials such as sand and gravel that allow water to pass easily through them

31. Permeable

32. Water Table
The top of the saturated zone, or depth to the groundwater in an aquifer

33. Water Table

34. Saturated Zone

35. Saturated Zone
A layer of permeable rock or soil in which the cracks and pores are completely filled with water

36. Aquifer
An underground layer of rock or soil that holds water

37. Aquifer

38. Spring
A place where groundwater bubbles or flows out of cracks in the ground

39. Spring

40. Recharge
New water that enters an aquifer from the surface

41. Recharge

42. Artesian Well
A well in which water rises because of pressure within the aquifer

43. Artesian Well