How does the water cycle move water around Earth?

The water cycle is powered mainly by the Sun, which heats surface water and causes evaporation from oceans, lakes, and soil. Water vapour rises, cools, and condenses into clouds made of tiny liquid droplets or ice crystals. When droplets grow large enough, they fall as precipitation such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. That water then flows back to rivers, groundwater, and oceans, and the cycle continues. Some water can stay stored for years in glaciers, aquifers, or the atmosphere before moving again.