What is the Hydrologic or Water Cycle?
Water is always moving. Surface water, warmed by the sun, evaporates into the atmosphere. Water vapor is carried by the wind all over the globe. Eventually the water vapor cools and condenses into clouds, fog, dew or various forms of precipitation. Once on the ground the water can evaporate directly or travel as runoff into the ocean, rivers, lakes or a ground water system eventually to evaporate again. This dynamic pathway of water is called the Water Cycle.