Water Cycle Journey
Move water through the landscape. Choose a process; watch its form and location change.
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How to play
Choose a journey or explore freely. Press a process button to move water to the named destination. The landscape highlights its new location and state; the message shows the transfer. Rain may return directly to the ocean or land on the surface. From land, try surface runoff or infiltration followed by groundwater discharge. Complete each requested path without a timer. Undo changes one transfer; Restart returns this journey to the ocean. Tab and Enter work on every control. Journeys and discoveries are saved in this browser.
Water Cycle Journey
Solar energy helps liquid water evaporate into gas. Cooling water vapor can condense into liquid droplets. Gravity drives falling precipitation and downhill flow. Groundwater is held in pores and cracks, not a hollow underground lake.
- Ocean · liquid → Evaporation → Air · invisible water vapor
- River · liquid → Evaporation → Air · invisible water vapor
- Air · invisible water vapor → Condensation → Cloud · tiny droplets
- Cloud · tiny droplets → Precipitation → Land surface · liquid
- Cloud · tiny droplets → Precipitation → Ocean · liquid
- Land surface · liquid → Surface runoff → River · liquid
- Land surface · liquid → Infiltration and recharge → Groundwater · liquid in pores and cracks
- Groundwater · liquid in pores and cracks → Groundwater discharge → River · liquid
- River · liquid → River flow → Ocean · liquid
A simplified diagram of possible paths. Water has no single starting point. Distances and travel times are not to scale. Cloud droplets are not water vapor. Infiltration and subsequent groundwater recharge are combined in one step.