The Water Cycle for Adults and Advanced Students
Science Center Objects
Earth's water is always in movement, and the natural water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Water is always changing states between liquid, vapor, and ice, with these processes happening in the blink of an eye and over millions of years.
Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the Earth's "natural" water cycle without human interference.
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The Natural Water Cycle for Adults and Advanced Students
The Water Cycle for Adults and Advanced Students
The links below will give you an in-depth explanation of the components of the natural water cycle, as well as to allow you to view and download water-cycle diagrams and illustrations (in over 60 languages!). These links are aimed more at high school students and adults, but we have an extensive set of water-cycle information aimed at younger students and kids, too.
Note: Our information only covers the natural water cycle, which does not take human activities into account. In today's world, humans have a major impact on many components of the water cycle.
Water cycle basics
Components of the water cycle
- Atmosphere
- Condensation
- Evaporation
- Evapotranspiration
- Freshwater lakes and rivers
- Groundwater flow
- Groundwater storage
- Ice and snow
- Infiltration
- Oceans
- Precipitation
- Snowmelt
- Springs
- Streamflow
- Sublimation
- Surface runoff
The Natural Water Cycle for Schools and Kids
Download the water-cycle diagram
- Image version (JPG) - Adult and advanced students
- High quality PDF - Adult and advanced students
- Image version (JPG) - School-aged version
The water cycle in many languages
Versions for students and kids:
Versions for adults and advanced students:
- English:
Quick summary
Complete summary
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- Chinese: Summary | Water-Science Center
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- Spanish - El Ciclo del Agua
- Spanish - La Ciencia del Agua para Escuelas
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Date published: September 8, 2019Status: CompletedPrecipitation and the Water Cycle
The air is full of water, even if you can't see it. Higher in the sky where it is colder than at the land surface, invisible water vapor condenses into tiny liquid water droplets—clouds. When the cloud droplets combine to form heavier cloud drops which can no longer "float" in the surrounding air, it can start to rain, snow, and hail... all forms of precipitation, the superhighway moving water...
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 12, 2019Status: CompletedStreamflow and the Water Cycle
What is streamflow? How do streams get their water? To learn about streamflow and its role in the water cycle, continue reading.
Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the Earth's "natural" water cycle without human interference.
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 12, 2019Status: CompletedSnowmelt Runoff and the Water Cycle
Perhaps you've never seen snow. Or, perhaps you built a snowman this very afternoon and perhaps you saw your snowman begin to melt. Regardless of your experience with snow and associated snowmelt, runoff from snowmelt is a major component of the global movement of water, possibly even if you live where it never snows.
Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the...
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 8, 2019Status: CompletedEvaporation and the Water Cycle
For the water cycle to work, water has to get from the Earth's surface back up into the skies so it can rain back down and ruin your parade or water your crops or yard. It is the invisible process of evaporation that changes liquid and frozen water into water-vapor gas, which then floats up into the skies to become clouds.
Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the...
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 8, 2019Status: CompletedThe Atmosphere and the Water Cycle
The atmosphere is the superhighway in the sky that moves water everywhere over the Earth. Water at the Earth's surface evaporates into water vapor which rises up into the sky to become part of a cloud which will float off with the winds, eventually releasing water back to Earth as precipitation.
Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the Earth's "natural" water...
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 8, 2019Status: CompletedCondensation and the Water Cycle
The air is full of water, as water vapor, even if you can't see it. Condensation is the process of water vapor turning back into liquid water, with the best example being those big, fluffy clouds floating over your head. And when the water droplets in clouds combine, they become heavy enough to form raindrops to rain down onto your head.
Note: This section of the Water Science...
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 8, 2019Status: CompletedInfiltration and the Water Cycle
You can't see it, but a large portion of the world's freshwater lies underground. It may all start as precipitation, but through infiltration and seepage, water soaks into the ground in vast amounts. Water in the ground keeps all plant life alive and serves peoples' needs, too.
Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the Earth's "natural" water cycle without human...
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 8, 2019Status: CompletedSurface Runoff and the Water Cycle
Runoff is nothing more than water "running off" the land surface. Just as the water you wash your car with runs off down the driveway as you work, the rain that Mother Nature covers the landscape with runs off downhill, too (due to gravity). Runoff is an important component of the natural water cycle.
Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the Earth's "natural"...
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 8, 2019Status: CompletedSprings and the Water Cycle
A spring is a place where water moving underground finds an opening to the land surface and emerges, sometimes as just a trickle, maybe only after a rain, and sometimes in a continuous flow. Spring water can also emerge from heated rock underground, giving rise to hot springs, which people have found to make a delightful way of soaking away their problems.
Note: This section of the...
Contacts: Ask USGS -
Date published: June 8, 2019Status: CompletedSublimation and the Water Cycle
Solid, liquid, and gas - the three states of water. We see water freeze and turn to ice and we see water evaporate and turn to gas but... have you ever seen ice evaporate directly to gas? This process is called sublimation and you can read all about it below.
Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the Earth's "natural" water cycle without human interference....
Contacts: Ask USGS
The Water Cycle for Schools and Kids
Learn About Water!
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have teamed up to create a water-cycle diagram for schools and kids. It is available in over 30 languages and also in an interactive version made for online
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Our interactive water-cycle diagram for schools and kids.
Our interactive diagram lets you to "mouse around" the water cycle and view explanations, pictures, and more online. It is available for three levels of students: Advanced | Intermediate
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