One molecule of water takes more than 3,000 years to complete the water cycle. The various reservoirs in the water cycle have different water residence times. Water in the oceans remains for 3,000 to 3,230 years, in the atmosphere for about 10 days before falling as rain or snow, and in the other reservoirs (lakes, rivers, ice, and groundwater) for variable amounts of times between these two extremes.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style