Water Cycle for Children

Have you ever wondered how old the water is that you drink every day?  You might think that it is about as old as the last rainfall but that is not exactly true.  That water that fell from the sky is old, really old.  The water you are drinking is about as old as the earth is.  When dinosaurs roamed the earth, walking through huge lakes eating plants and drinking water, the water in your glass was part of the lakes.  The water that was in the wells that knights and princesses drank from is part of the water we drink today.

The planet earth has a limited amount of water.  You could say that water is recycled, it keeps going around and around in cycle that keeps repeating itself over and over again.  This cycle is called the "Water Cycle".  The water cycle has six main parts.  Those parts are condensation, infiltration, runoff, evaporation, precipitation, and transpiration.  Let take a look at each part of the water cycle.

Condensation happens when the water vapour in the air is cooled and changed into a liquid.  This liquid is what forms the clouds.  Condensation is the exact opposite of evaporation.

Infiltration is a very important part of the water cycle.  Infiltration happens when rain falls and soaks into the ground.

Runoff happens when the water returns to the earth in the form of precipitation and runs off land surfaces, flowing downhill to fill lakes, pond, rivers, and streams.

Evaporation takes place when water, or any liquid, changes from its liquid form into the form of a gas.

Precipitation takes place when the atmospheric pressure and the temperature reach the right level at the same time causing small drops of water within the clouds to gather together to form larger drops of water, causing rain to fall to the ground. 

Transpiration is what happens when plants absorb water through the soil.  The water that is absorbed moves through the roots of the plant, to the stems and then to the leaves of the plant.  When the water gets to the leaves, some of it evaporates, adding to water vapour that is in the air.    

This cycle is repeated over and over.  It is endless.  Each part of this water cycle is important in making sure that we always have fresh water.   The glass of water you drink sure has been on an incredible journey!

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

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