Joe and Dr Bea’s story Dr Bea and I are just back from a trip a pretty scary one as it turned out Let me tell you all about it We had a journey to make We planned to follow the course of a river from where it first appears as a small spring in the mountains down to where the river makes its slow entry to the sea We found the spring high up on the mountain gushing clear fresh water But we knew that somewhere along its downhill journey the water was changing into murky poisonous sludge We had to find out what was going on no matter what surprises the river might hold for us 5
Early one morning Dr Bea and I found ourselves up in the mountains at the spring Pure fresh water was flowing out of a crack in the rocks A small spout had been put there so hikers could take a drink The water tasted clean and fresh as though it had just fallen from the sky The water cycle Precipitation in the form of rain sleet hail or snow falls from the clouds Water drains down the hillsides into small streams Groundwater collects below the soil and rocks and eventually drains into lakes rivers or oceans 6
As the water vapor rises it cools It condenses or changes from a gas back into droplets of liquid water Clouds form from these water droplets Water on the ground or in the sea is heated by the sun or warm winds The water then evaporates which means it turns into a light invisible gas called water vapor The water also drains into lakes and reservoirs A river’s source When water falls from the clouds in the form of rain or snow it sinks into the soft ground until it hits hard rock It collects into underground lakes or drains down the sloping rock bed The water may reappear and flow as a spring wherever there are cracks in the rock Water is pulled in a downward direction by a force called gravity It will follow the easiest path It flows in low-lying ditches and valleys The force of the water can also cut a path into or around an obstacle such as rock or a hill Rivers can also start from marshes lakes and glaciers The spring is the river’s source the point farthest away from where the river enters the sea 7
