Band 7+: The diagram shows the water cycle, which is the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Summaries the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where revelant.

The picture illustrates the process in which water moves from ocean to air and then to land through a natural process called the water cycle.

Overall, the cycle has four main stages. Water evaporates, forms clouds, returns back on earth’s surface, and eventually runs back into the oceans.

During the first three stages, Surface water evaporates due to the heat from the sun. Approximately 80% of this water vapor comes from the oceans, also known as saltwater. Next, this vapor is condensed in the sky and forms clouds, which may travel to different locations. At the third stage, water in clouds falls down on Earth as rain or snow (the phenomenon known as precipitation) and creates Lakes as well as snow caps on mountains.

Following precipitation, some of the water reaches the impervious layer of the ground, and some run on the surface. Eventually, this water finds its way back into the ocean to complete the cycle. However, just before entering the ocean, the surface runoff mixes with saltwater, which has already moved into land, and pushes it back into the ocean.