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Land and Water: Mr. Wells 4th Grade Greenfield Elementary Moving Water Shapes the Land Water on Earth is constantly moving. The water on Earth moves between the air, the land, and the oceans in a movement called the water cycle. As water moves over and through the landscape, it helps to shape landforms. The Water Cycle • As the sun shines on the oceans, some water near the surface changes into water vapor. The water vapor condenses and falls to Earth as rain, sleet or snow. This water runs downhill and then back into the ocean where the cycle begins again. Moving Water • Moving water is one cause of weathering (erosion) as gravity pulls water downhill. • Water moving after a rainstorm, from high to low ground, is called runoff. • Runoff also happens when snow melts. • Runoff will cut grooves into soil and rock, over time these grooves can become streams and rivers. Precipitation falls from the sky and weathers the surfaces of the rock. This helps to turn rock into soil. When the surface of the rock is weathered (eroded), new rock that was underneath the surface is now being exposed to weathering (erosion). • After the rain, the water seeps into the ground. This rain water will continue to trickle through the soil until it reaches solid rock. When it meets solid rock, it joins other water in the ground. These pools of water feed wells and the deep roots of trees. • As all this water moves through the soil, it changes all of the surfaces that it comes into contact with. • The grinding of small rock particles are some of the physical changes. • As water moves through rock, it can combine with minerals in rocks causing a chemical change. • When this happens, there may be a change in the original rock and can cause changes in any other rock that the mineral water comes in contact with later. SHORELINES • Where the ocean meets the land, weathering (erosion) occurs. As waves wash up on the shore, the sand on the beach moves. • The shape of the shore changes along with the movement of the water in the ocean. • The ocean is an important part of the water cycle. • The movement of water through the water cycle shapes and reshapes the Earth’s surface.