Water is always on the move! It travels from oceans and lakes up to the sky, and then falls back down. This never-ending journey is called the water cycle.
1. Evaporation
The Sun heats water in oceans, lakes, and rivers. Some of that water turns into an invisible gas called water vapor and floats up into the air.
Evaporation
When water is heated and turns into water vapor.
2. Condensation
High in the sky the air is cooler. The water vapor cools down and turns back into tiny drops of water. Millions of these tiny drops join together to make clouds.
3. Precipitation
When the clouds hold too much water, the drops fall back to the ground as rain. When it is very cold, they can fall as snow or hail. This is called precipitation.
4. Collection
The water collects again in oceans, lakes, and rivers. Then the Sun warms it once more, and the whole cycle starts all over again!
The water cycle repeats again and again: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.