Background:
| Water is a vital part of all environments. As the amount of fresh water and vapour is limited, it has to be recycled over and over again. There is about the same amount of water on earth now that there was when the dinosaurs roamed our planet. The water cycle, the continuous movement of water from ocean to air and land then back to the ocean in a cyclic pattern, is a central concept in meteorology. In the water cycle, the sun heats the Earth's surface water, causing that surface water to evaporate (gas). This water vapour then rises into the Earth's atmosphere where it cools and condenses into liquid droplets. These droplets combine and grow until they become too heavy and fall to the earth as precipitation (liquid if rain, solid if snow). |
| Water is temporarily stored in lakes, glaciers, underground, or living organisms. The water can move from these places by streams and rivers, returns to the oceans, is used by plants or animals or is evaporated directly back into the atmosphere. |
| Where water is stored and how it moves through the water cycle underpins several aspects of the Geography curriculum. Knowledge of the water cycle is a fundamental building block to the study of both weather and rivers. An understanding of the water cycle also aids explanation of the location of ecosystems and settlements. |
