A drop’s journey around Aotearoa

The sun warmed the sea off the coast of Aotearoa New Zealand. A tiny drop of water rose into the air as invisible water vapour. This change from liquid water to gas is called evaporation. Plants also release water vapour from their leaves, a process called transpiration. Higher in the cooler air, the vapour cooled and changed into tiny liquid droplets. This is condensation. The droplets gathered in clouds and travelled inland on the wind. When the droplets joined and grew heavy, water fell from the clouds as precipitation. It might fall as rain, snow or hail. Some rain flowed over the land into streams and rivers. The rivers carried it back towards the sea. Some water soaked into the ground, where it could slowly move through soil and rock. In the mountains, snow could remain for a while before melting and joining streams. Water can take different routes, but it keeps moving. With energy from the sun, water changes form and travels through the environment again and again. This repeating movement is called the water cycle.

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