The water cycle
Water moves between the land, sea and atmosphere.
The sun heats water in the sea, in lakes, in rivers and on land, and it changes from a liquid into a gas called water vapour.
Water vapour rises into the atmosphere, cools, and changes back from a gas into a liquid, forming clouds.
Water falls from the atmosphere to Earth's surface as precipitation, such as rain, snow or sleet.
Water that has fallen runs off over the land into streams and rivers, or soaks into the ground as groundwater — some of it staying in the shallow soil and some going deeper.
Water moves between the land, sea and atmosphere in the water cycle.
Evaporation is not the same as boiling
Evaporation is the change of state from a liquid to a gas. It happens at the water's surface at everyday temperatures — so water can change into vapour without ever being boiled. In boiling, vapour bubbles form throughout the liquid. Pure water boils at 100 °C at sea-level pressure.
Where does the water go?
The visible white cloud above a kettle is tiny liquid droplets. Water vapour itself is an invisible gas. Water that seems to "disappear" from a glass or a puddle has not gone away. It is still here, all around us, as an invisible gas called water vapour.
→ As it moves through the water cycle, water can be in the liquid state, the gas state (water vapour), or the solid state (ice).