How come bodies of water (lakes, rivers, wetlands, oceans even…) exist above ground instead of the water simply being absorbed by the earth?
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Go to the cabinet. Take out a glass. Go to the sink and fill the glass. Now place the glass on the counter.
The glass represents part of the landscape. It’s an area of rock that can hold water — either there’s no cracks in it, or the cracks are small enough it takes a while for the water to get out – let’s call it a basin. The counter holding the glass off the floor is just whatever dirt and rock did underneath that keep it above sea level.
The faucet represents the source of water: rain (or snow). It either falls directly into the basin, or it falls somewhere uphill of the basin and pours downhill as a stream, or water soaking through the dirt an gathers in the basin.
Water is there because it fills faster than it empties. Maybe it’s difficult for the water to get out, maybe water is being added really quickly. Whichever some water backs up to that spot and stays there long enough to form a body of water (anything from a puddle to a great lake).
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