The water cycle: where water is stored and how it moves
Answer: The water cycle describes where water is on Earth and how it moves. Water is stored in the atmosphere, on the land surface, and below the ground, and it moves between the places it is stored. Water moves naturally and because of human actions.
Where water is stored
- Oceans store 96% of all water on Earth. Ocean water is saline, meaning it's salty.
- Fresh water is stored in liquid form in freshwater lakes, artificial reservoirs, rivers, and wetlands.
- Water is stored in solid, frozen form in ice sheets and glaciers, and in snowpack at high elevations or near Earth's poles.
- In the soil, frozen water is stored as permafrost and liquid water is stored as soil moisture.
- Deeper below ground, liquid water is stored as groundwater in aquifers, within cracks and pores in the rock.
How water moves
- The sun's energy causes liquid water to evaporate into water vapor.
- Water moves between the atmosphere and the surface through evaporation, evapotranspiration, and precipitation.
- Water moves across the surface through snowmelt, runoff, and streamflow.
- Water moves into the ground through infiltration and groundwater recharge.
In both liquid and frozen form, water covers 75% of the Earth's surface.
People and the cycle
Human water use, land use, and climate change all impact the water cycle, affecting where water is stored, how it moves, and how clean it is. USGS's newest water cycle diagram, released in 2022, depicts the global water cycle as well as how human water use affects it. A separate diagram depicts the water cycle under natural conditions and is available in more than 60 languages.
Claims
- id: C1 claim: Oceans store 96% of all water on Earth. source: S1 evidence: "Oceans store 96% of all water on Earth."
- id: C2 claim: The sun's energy causes liquid water to evaporate. source: S1 evidence: "The sun’s energy causes liquid water to evaporate into water vapor."
- id: C3 claim: The natural water cycle diagram is available in more than 60 languages. source: S2 evidence: "The natural water cycle diagram is available in more than 60 languages."
Sources
- [S1] Water cycle. USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-cycle . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-04.
- [S2] Water Cycle Diagrams. USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-cycle-adults-and-advanced-students . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-04.
License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted).
License: CC-BY-4.0 · Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: USGS, Water cycle, US government work, public domain; USGS, Water Cycle Diagrams, US government work, public domain.
Cite this
iinventedlight. 2026. "The water cycle: where water is stored and how it moves." iinventedlight Library, iil:note:gn4dy7sf, version of 2026-11-04. https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/water-cycle-basics/. License: CC-BY-4.0.
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title = {{The water cycle: where water is stored and how it moves}},
howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-11-04},
url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/water-cycle-basics/},
note = {Permanent ID iil:note:gn4dy7sf. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
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For language models and agents: start at /llms.txt. This page in Markdown: /library/notes/water-cycle-basics.md.