{"id":7559,"date":"2020-06-12T13:14:27","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T13:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pgesafetyeducation.com\/school\/?page_id=7559"},"modified":"2020-09-22T22:17:43","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T22:17:43","slug":"the-water-cycle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pgesafetyeducation.com\/school\/the-water-cycle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Water Cycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Water Cycle<\/h1><\/div>

While mankind has only recently harnessed the power of flowing water to create electricity, water has always flowed from the earth up to the atmosphere and back again in a natural pattern called The Water Cycle (also known as the hydrologic cycle).<\/p>\n

Nature is always moving water through the air and land so that the water we use is constantly recycled. That means that all the water molecules on earth and in our atmosphere today are the same ones that existed when the dinosaurs roamed the earth! Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"Illustration<\/p>\n

View the water cycle<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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  1. Evaporation<\/strong>\u2014The sun heats water in rivers, lakes and the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam, which then rises into the air.<\/li>\n
  2. Transpiration<\/strong>\u2014Water from plants, animals and humans evaporates into the air.<\/li>\n
  3. Condensation<\/strong>\u2014The vapor cools and turns into tiny water droplets that attach to each other and form clouds.<\/li>\n
  4. Precipitation<\/strong>\u2014Water falls from the clouds as rain, snow, sleet or hail.<\/li>\n
  5. Runoff<\/strong>\u2014Some water stays on the earth\u2019s surface and flows into rivers, lakes and reservoirs.<\/li>\n
  6. Percolation<\/strong>\u2014Other water seeps down into the earth\u2019s natural underground reservoirs called aquifers. Then the cycle begins again, as water from the earth\u2019s surface evaporates into the air.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>