dbd-73.nd
 
March 1994
 
Ground Water Youth Guide
 
 
North Dakota State University Extension Service
Fargo, ND
 
 
 
 WATER CYCLE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Where does all our water come from in North Dakota?
 
 
Believe it or not, the water you drink today might be the same water a
dinosaur drank. That's because the earth recycles water It just keeps
moving under, on, and above the earth's surface. This is called the
water cycle.
 
dbd-73.fig1.nd.gif
Figure 1. The Water Cycle
 
 
 
What is the "Water Cycle?"
 
The continuous movement of water between the earth and the sky
(atmosphere). The scientific name for this is "hydrological cycle."
This cycle is different in different parts of the country. Mountains,
oceans, temperatures, dry climates and wet climates affect the cycle
in a different way.
 
 
What is needed to make the water cycle work?
 
Energy or heat is needed to evaporate water from lakes, rivers, soils
or even plants.This evaporated water moves through the atmosphere as
vapor and when it cools it falls to the earth as rain, snow or
hail. Once it hits the surface of the earth it will take one of two
paths.
 
1. It runs off the soil into lakes and
 rivers
 
2. It soaks into the soil
 
The water that ends up in oceans, lakes and rivers is quickly heated
by the sun and evaporates again.The water that soaks into the soil may
have many different paths to follow before it is evaporated to the
atmosphere again.
 
1. Some stays near the surface as moisture for plants to use in
growing. In the growing process, plants will give off water to the
atmosphere. This process is called transpiration.
 
2. Water that does not stay near the surface in the soil will go down
ward into the earth.This water is called groundwater. Some water may
stay deep within the earth and move around for many years before it
makes its way to the surface again.
 
 
How does the "water cycle" operate in North Dakota?
 
Because North Dakota has a dry climate most of the water that falls as
rain or snow is quickly evaporated back to the atmosphere from rivers,
lakes, wetlands, soils or through crops, grasses and trees. Only a
small amount of that water makes its way to the groundwater. When it
does get to the groundwater, it slowly moves underground. Some
eventually moves to rivers, wetlands or lakes, where it
evaporates. The great amount of energy available for evaporation
compared to the small amount of water available in North Dakota favors
the evaporation part of the hydrological cycle.
 
Rivers, lakes, and wetlands often dry up during the summer or over a
period of many years.Trees love water so they are usually only found
in wet areas along streams or wetlands. Grass is the most common
native plant everywhere else. Salty soils are found in many places
because evaporation has left behind salts that were dissolved in the
water.
TXTEND
 
Funding for this publication was provided by the U.S.Department of
Agriculture Extension Service, under project numbr 89-EWQI-1-9006 and
the Nort Dakota State University Extension Service.
 
NDSU Extension service. North Dakota State University of Agriculture
and Applied science, and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.
Robert J. Christman, Interim Director, Fargo. North
Dakota. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8
and June 30, 1914. We offer our programs and facilities to all persons
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