Hydrology (Fresh Water) Vocabulary

the process of removing salt from ocean water.

• Desalination

• Distillation

• Reverse Osmosis

• Saltification

the invisible, gaseous form of water.

• Condensation

• Clouds

• Water Vapor

• Spring

a place where the water table reaches the Earth’s surface and water flows out from the ground.

• Aquifer

• Artesian Spring

• Well

• Spring

how acidic or basic a substance is, measured on a scale of 1 (very acidic) to 14 (very basic).

• Water Quality

• Hardness

• Acid Scale

• pH

forms of water such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail that fall from clouds and reach Earth’s surface.

• Condensation

• Precipitation

• Transpiration

• Evaporation

characteristic of materials through which water does not easily pass, such as clay.

• Water Table

• Permeable

• Saturated Zone

• Impremeable

Pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single, specific site

• Point Source

• Nonpoint Source

• Fertilizers

• Pesticides

characteristic of materials such as sand and gravel that allow water to pass easily through them.

• Permeable

• Unsaturated Zone

• Impermeable

• Aquifer Flow

the process by which water from the oceans and the Earth’s surface absorb enough energy to change into water vapor.

• Condensation

• Evaporation

• Transpiration

• Percolation

area in which the spaces between rock particles are filled with water.

• Unsaturated Zone

• Water Table

• Aquifer

• Saturated Zone