Despite seventy percent of the world's surface being covered with water, there is a potential shortage of this natural resource. Only a small percentage is fresh water and much of that is inaccessible or threatened. Learn about fresh...

The USGS gives an overview of the amount of water on Earth and where it is located. It gives a few interesting facts about the Earth's supply of water. Click Home to access the site in Spanish.

For young scholars that have already been introduced to the water cycle, this lesson plan is intended as a logical follow-up. Students will learn about human impacts on the water cycle that create a pathway for pollutants beginning with...

In this lesson, students collected and tested well water from various locations to determine the quality of surface water used as drinking water throughout their town. Students prepared a general report for the town as well as specific...

Drinking water comes from many different sources, including surface water and groundwater. Environmental engineers analyze the physical properties of groundwater to predict how and where surface contaminants will travel. In this lesson...

A hydrogeologist is a person who studies the ways that groundwater (hydro) moves through the soil and rock of the earth (geology). A similar profession, a hydrologist, is someone who studies surface water. Find out what this career is like.

Students conduct a simple test to determine how many drops of each of three liquids can be placed on a penny before spilling over. The three liquids are water, rubbing alcohol, and vegetable oil; because of their different surface...

Educate students about soil erosion with this thorough instructional activity which focuses on the geography of Guinea.

Observe the Nisqually Glacier at Mount Rainier in this video segment from NatureScene. [4:07]

Wind is air in motion. It is produced by the uneven heating of the earth's surface by the sun. Since the earth's surface is made of various land and water formations, it absorbs the sun's radiation unevenly. When the sun is shining...

Rough-toothed dolphins are usually seen swimming in schools of 10-20 individuals, although groups of 50 or more have been reported. They are sometimes seen cruising along at high speed, with their beaks at the surface and their dorsal...