Water Cycle Animation

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Humans depend on water. For this reason, throughout history, humans have settled near water sources.

The most successful civilizations have been those with reliable water sources.

Introduction

Humans use water for drinking, transportation and watering their crops.

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Many different ways to harness water for human use have been developed, including:

wells

Introduction

irrigation systems

reservoirs

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In the past, humans frequently disposed of their waste in rivers and streams.

Water and Life

Often, these were the same rivers and streams used to collect drinking water.

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By the mid-1800s it became clear that contamination of water sources by waste disposal was causing widespread disease.

Water and Life

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As a result of this, water and sewage treatment processes were developed, helping to prevent these water-borne diseases.

Water and Life

Even today, water-borne diseases are responsible for nearly 2 million deaths each year.

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Most of the water sources on land are fresh water.

Fresh water is very important to humans because we are only able to drink fresh water.

Fresh Water

Fresh water contains very little salt or other impurities.

Surface water is water on top of the ground. For example: rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands and oceans.

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Surface Water

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Some sources of surface water are rain and melting snow.

Surface Water

Most surface water eventually ends up in the oceans.

It collects on the ground or flows into various bodies of water.

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Run-off

Surface Water that will move on the land, flowing into larger bodies of water.

Gravity is a major cause of run-off, as it pulls water downhill.

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As water flows over land, it picks up particles of soil or rock, eroding the ground and forming channels.

As more and more run-off occurs, these channels become deeper and wider, eventually forming streams and rivers.

Run-off

Question 2

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What is run-off?

A) Water that soaks into the ground

B) Water that flows over land into a body of waterC) Water that always ends up in the oceans

D) Water that contains living organisms

Question 2

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What is run-off?

A) Water that soaks into the ground

B) Water that flows over land into a body of waterC) Water that always ends up in the oceans

D) Water that contains living organisms

A watershed is an area of land which water flows from higher elevations to lower.

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Watersheds are separated by divides - land that is at a higher elevation, such as a ridge or a mountain range.

Watershed

Water that is in/below the ground, becomes groundwater.

The amount of water that soaks into the ground depends on the permeability of the rock or soil at the surface (ability for water to flow through). Next >

Groundwater

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How much rock is open space

Porosity

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Areas of land where water can infiltrate (pass through) an area easily are referred to as recharge zones

Recharge Zone

Some groundwater remains in soil pores or small cracks, while some collects in large spaces in rock below the surface.

Underground spaces that hold a usable amount of water are called aquifers. The water in an aquifer flows downwards very slowly.

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Aquifer

Aquifers

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As sub-surface water moves through rock and soil, it can create or enlarge aquifers by the process of erosion.

When the water in an aquifer reappears at the surface, it can form a stream, river or spring.

Stream

Aquifers

When a material becomes so full of a liquid that it cannot hold any more, we say that it is saturated.

The water table is the surface of groundwater. Below the water table, pores and cracks in rock and soil are completely saturated with water.

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Water table

The Water Table

The location of the water table is related to surface water.

The Water Table

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For example, heavy rain may mean that more water than usual will seep into the ground, causing aquifers to fill. This in turn causes the water table to rise.

The Water Table

When little or no rain falls for a long time, aquifers may dry out, causing the water table to drop.

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This also occurs when humans pump water out of an aquifer faster than it is replenished by surface water seeping into the ground.

Question 3

What is an aquifer?

A) An underground space that can store enough water to feed a well

B) A channel cut into the ground by run-offC) The surface of groundwater, below which,

the rock or soil is saturatedD) A small body of surface water

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Question 3

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What is an aquifer?

A) An underground space that can store enough water to feed a well

B) A channel cut into the ground by run-offC) The surface of groundwater, below which,

the rock or soil is saturatedD) A small body of surface water

Watershed Model

_________: area of land that drains water from higher land to lower land

and into a stream

: water that collects in cracks and spaces in the rocks and sediments beneath Earth’s

surface.

: beneath Earth’s surface, the top of the

groundwater.

: water that collects in streams, rivers or lakes.

Exit

• Below your model explain the watershed and how the various parts are connected. Also explain how the watershed is also part of the water cycle. Make sure to include the following vocabulary words:– Watershed– Groundwater– surface water– water table