Did you know that we have the same amount of water on the planet now as we did millions of years ago? Water keeps cycling through our planet--it's either in the air, on the ground, or in the process of coming down or going back up! All the world's water just keeps cycling around. Here's how it works:
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First, water in the air (water vapor) falls from the sky. This is called precipitation. Water can fall as rain, sleet, hail, snow, or mist.
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The water that falls down onto the ground either gets soaked up by plants (about 80 percent), runs along the ground to a river or stream, or soaks into the ground and enters the ground water by infiltration. The ground water may also flow into a river or stream.
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Water is then sent back up into the atmosphere by either evaporation (water turns to water vapor by warmth from the sun) or transpiration (water vapor is discharged from plants back into the atmosphere)
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Learn more about the water cycle by clicking on the links below: