Glossary

absorbed

Taken in through thin openings on the surface

algae

Very small one-celled plants that often grow in colonies

aquifers

An underground layer of rock and soil that holds groundwater

asphalt

A water-proof brown-blackish material used in paving

atmosphere

The mass of air surrounding the Earth

buffer

An land barrier that separates a wildlife area from homes or other kinds of development

buffer zones

Land barriers that separate wildlife areas from homes or other kinds of development

cancerous

Filled with cancer, a disease in which cells multiply quickly in strange ways

condensation

The process through which water vapor in the air changes into a liquid

curfew

A rule that all people have to be off the streets by a certain hour, usually at night

discharge

Release water

erosion

The wearing away of land surfaces by wind and water

evaporated

Changed from a liquid to a vapor

evaporation

The process of changing from a liquid to a vapor

exhaust

Gases that car engines throw out as waste products

filtered

Captured sediments and pollution while allowing the water to pass through

generates

Makes or produces

groundwater

Water that exists below the Earth’s surface

impervious

Not allowing another substance to pass through

infiltration

The process of water moving from the surface into the Earth

molecules

Very small particles of water which are made up of two atoms clinging together

precipitation

Rain, snow, sleet, hail, or mist that falls to the Earth

runoff

Precipitation that is not absorbed by the soil, but flows into streams or other surface water

sewage

Used water and waste materials

toxins

Poisons

tumors

Abnormal tissue growths caused by the overgrowth of cells

watershed

An area of land that drains into a specific body of water