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The water cycle — technically known as the hydrologic cycle — is the circulation of water within the Earth's hydrosphere, involving changes in the physical state of water between liquid, solid, and gas phases. The hydrologic cycle is the continuous exchange of water between atmosphere, land, surface and subsurface waters, and organisms. In addition to storage in various compartments (the ocean is one such "compartment"), the multiple cycles that make up the earth's water cycle involve five main physical actions: evaporation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and subsurface flow.