The distribution of water on earth is quite uneven. Many locations have plenty of water while others have very limited quantity.
| Water on the Earth’s surface |
| Reservoir |
Volume
(Million of the Total Cubic km ) |
Percentage of the total |
| Oceans |
1,370 |
97.25 |
| IceCaps and Glaciers |
29 |
2.05 |
| Groundwater |
9.5 |
0.68 |
| Lakes |
0.125 |
0.01 |
| Soil Moisture |
0.065 |
0.005 |
| Atmosphere |
0.013 |
0.001 |
| Streams and Rivers |
0.0017 |
0.0001 |
| Biosphere |
0.0006 |
0.00004 |
The hydrological cycle, is the circulation of water within the earth’s hydrosphere in different forms i.e. the liquid, solid and the gaseous phases. About 71 percent of the planetary water is found in the oceans. The remaining is held as freshwater in glaciers and ice caps, groundwater sources, lakes, soil moisture, atmosphere, streams and within life. Nearly 59 percent of the water that falls on land returns to the atmosphere through evaporation from over the oceans as well as from other places. The remainder runs-off on the surface, infiltrates into the ground or a part of it becomes glacier.
