water cycle

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Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

hydrologic cycle

Learn about the water cycle and how oceans act as the Earth's water reservoirs

The water cycle: From the ocean to the air

Indonesia: climate

Perito Moreno glacier

Figure 2: The present-day surface hydrologic cycle. The numbers in parentheses refer to volumes of water in millions of cubic kilometres, and the fluxes adjacent to the arrows are in millions of cubic kilometres of water per year.

Figure 4: The detailed hydrologic cycle emphasizing processes involved in the transfer of water in the cycle. Numbers on arrows show relative water fluxes.

Follow water in its many forms, from glaciers and clouds to freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans

See how water transforms between liquid, ice, and vapour in the water cycle

For Students

water cycle summary

Discover

Adolf Hitler (Nazi, nazism, German leader).

9 Things You Might Not Know About Adolf Hitler

Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls

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Plato (left) and Aristotle, detail from School of Athens, fresco by Raphael, 1508-11; in the Stanza della Segnatura, the Vatican. Plato points to the heavens and the realm of Forms, Aristotle to the earth and the realm of things.

Plato and Aristotle: How Do They Differ?

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

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Thanksgiving Turkey with all the sides

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Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that

America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.

10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci

water cycle: Media

Videos

Learn about the water cycle and how oceans act as the Earth's water reservoirs

Learn about the water cycle and how oceans act as the Earth's water reservoirs

The water cycle begins and ends in the ocean.

Video: Created and produced by QA International. © QA International, 2010. All rights reserved. www.qa-international.com

The water cycle: From the ocean to the air

The water cycle: From the ocean to the air

Overview of water moving through the hydrologic cycle, or water cycle: it evaporates...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Follow water in its many forms, from glaciers and clouds to freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans

Follow water in its many forms, from glaciers and clouds to freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans

Learn about the essential aspects of the hydrologic cycle.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

See how water transforms between liquid, ice, and vapour in the water cycle

See how water transforms between liquid, ice, and vapour in the water cycle

The formation of clouds and rain.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Explore how interactions between the water cycle and landforms affect climate and weather

Explore how interactions between the water cycle and landforms affect climate and weather

Learn about how interactions between the water cycle and landforms, as in orographic...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Learn how the Andes Mountains block warm moist air, causing heavy rainfall that feeds the Amazon River

Learn how the Andes Mountains block warm moist air, causing heavy rainfall that feeds the Amazon River

Learn how the Andes Mountains block warm moist air, causing persistent heavy rainfall...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

hydrologic cycle

hydrologic cycle

This diagram shows how, in the hydrologic cycle, water is transferred between the...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

condensation

condensation

Fog, which is formed by the condensation of water vapour on condensation nuclei that...

Bob Wick/U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Indonesia: climate

Indonesia: climate

Most of Indonesia receives heavy rainfall throughout the year.

© Gholib Marsudi/Dreamstime.com

Perito Moreno glacier

Perito Moreno glacier

Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier is one of several parts of Patagonia that are cold...

© javarman3—iStock/Getty Images

Figure 2: The present-day surface hydrologic cycle. The numbers in parentheses refer to volumes of water in millions of cubic kilometres, and the fluxes adjacent to the arrows are in millions of cubic kilometres of water per year.

Figure 2: The present-day surface hydrologic cycle. The numbers in parentheses...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Figure 4: The detailed hydrologic cycle emphasizing processes involved in the transfer of water in the cycle. Numbers on arrows show relative water fluxes.

Figure 4: The detailed hydrologic cycle emphasizing processes involved in the transfer...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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