Glossary
Blue Crab:
A blue crab is a large bluish-green edible crab of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Blue crabs are the most valuable fishery in the Chesapeake Bay.
Condensation:
Condensation is the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water. It is the opposite of evaporation and it is responsible for forming clouds.
Estuary:
An estuary is a coastal ecosystem where freshwater from rivers mixes with saltwater from the ocean. Maryland's Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the country. It is located on the East Coast and stretches across six states and the District of Columbia.Evaporation:
Evaporation is when liquid water on Earth is heated by the Sun and turns into a gas or water vapor. This water vapor then moves into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Gas:
A gas has no fixed shape or volume. Particles of a gas are very far apart and move freely.
Groundwater:
Groundwater is water underground that seeps and fills the spaces between soil and rock.
Liquid:
Liquids do not have a fixed shape but do have a fixed volume. Liquids take the shape of their container. Particles of a liquid are not very close together.
Manure:
Manure is animal waste from farm animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry.
Precipitation:
Precipitation is water released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail. Precipitation is the main way atmospheric water returns to the surface of the Earth. Most precipitation falls as rain.
Solid:
A solid has a fixed shape and volume. The particles making up a solid are closely packed together.
Water Cycle:
The water cycle is the path that all water follows as it moves around Earth in different states.
Watershed:
A watershed is an area of land that rainwater flows across before it drains into a single larger body of water, such as a larger river, a lake, or an ocean.
