Written by Facts Chief
Modified & Updated: 23 Sep 2024
Reviewed by Jessica Corbett
The water cycle is a fascinating and crucial process that ensures the continuous movement of water on Earth, from the sky to the earth’s surface and back again. It plays a vital role in maintaining the planet’s weather patterns and supporting life in all its forms. Here are 10 water cycle facts that highlight the importance and complexity of this process.
- Definition: A process of condensation, infiltration, run-off, evaporation, precipitation and transpiration
- Other name: The hydrologic cycle
- Composition: 3% of the water in the water cycle isn’t saltwater
- Renewable: No. Water is one of the few resources that can’t be created by man
- Driving Force: Sun is the driving force of the entire water cycle
- Effect: Changes in the state of the water cycle cause changes in energy in the atmosphere
- Aquifers: The name given to underground chambers that store water
- Storage: Water is stored in the earth’s surface or in ice caps or glaciers
- Supply: The water cycle is something that is limited – we don’t have an endless supply
- Composition: Water in the cycle is made up of two elements, hydrogen and oxygen. Its chemical formula is H2O
- Nature: The Water Cycle Helps to Regulate the Earth’s Temperature
- Science: The Chemicals We Use Affect the Water Cycle
- Science: Water Exists in More than One State in the Water Cycle
- Nature: Changes in Climate mean Changes in the Water Cycle
- Experiment: You Can Create Your Own Mini Water Cycle
- Our Cycle of Water can Be Much Older than You Think
- We Could Be Drinking the Same Water Dinosaurs Drank
- The Water Cycle Only Creates 1% Useable Water for Humans
- Plants Sweat, just like Humans!
- Every Loaf of Bread we Eat Takes 570 Gallons of Water from the Water Cycle – Industry Can’t Survive Without It
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