The Hydrologic Cycle

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 409.

The Hydrologic Cycle is a continuous change in the state of water as it passes through a cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Of the water that falls on the land, up to 90 percent is evaporated. Some is absorbed by plants and subsequently transpired to the atmosphere, some runs off in streams and rivers, and some soaks into the ground. The relative amounts of water following these paths vary considerably and depend upon the slope of the ground; the character of the soil and rocks, -the amount, rate, and distribution of rainfall; the amount and type of plant cover; and the temperature. The hydrosphere is estimated to include over 300 million cubic miles of water, about 97 percent of which is in the oceans.