Hydrosphere Vocabulary

3. water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it
8. the draining away of water (or substances carried in it) from the surface of an area of land, a building or structure, etc.
9. water vapor given off by plant photosynthesis
11. the cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.
12. the largest portion of the hydrosphere
15. a covering of ice over a large area, especially on the polar region of a planet.
16. is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts.
17. a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles.

1. all the waters on the earth's surface, such as lakes and seas, and sometimes including water over the earth's surface, such as clouds.
2. the process of turning from liquid into vapor.
4. an underground layer of water trapped by impermeable rock.
5. a period of time where there is limited or no rainfall
6. an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.
7. is the water present beneath Earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water
10. the rain, snow, sleet or hail that falls from clouds onto the Earth’s land and oceans
13. is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids
14. A drainage basin is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water