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The Artistry of Water

The Artistry of Water
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.21

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    artistry, moraine, erosion, steeper, commercial, imagine, sediment, announcer, rainstorm, material, encounter, design, landscape, downstream, power, television
     content words:    United States, Grand Canyon, Colorado River, Ice Age

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The Artistry of Water
By Trista L. Pollard 		  
1     Imagine you are watching television, and you hear the announcer say, "The earth's beautiful landscape has been brought to you by water!" Chances are you will not hear a commercial like that on television. The truth is the earth's beautiful landscape is due to water.
 
2     Moving water on the earth's surface is like the flowing of paint on an artist's canvas. Given time and patience, both have the ability to produce masterpieces. The power of flowing water over time produces changes in the earth's surface through the process of erosion. After a rainstorm, some of the water is absorbed into earth materials like rocks and soil. The rest of the water that is not absorbed flows across the ground into streams, rivers, and oceans. As the water flows across the earth's surface, it erodes or wears away the land and rocks. Rocks, soil, and other earth materials are washed away, allowing water to "design" a new landscape.
 
3     In the western part of the United States, one of our most beautiful landforms was created this way. The Grand Canyon was born after a million years of water from the Colorado River eroding the soil and rocks. This material or sediment was transported downstream and deposited at the mouth of the Gulf of California. Water continues to wash away huge amounts of rocks and soil from the banks or sides of rivers and hills each day. Eventually, these earth materials are carried into the ocean. The ocean's waves also pound the cliffs and boulders on the coast into sand. These waves also transport sand from the coastline back into the ocean. Beach erosion is an ongoing concern around the world today.

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