Distribution of Freshwater and Saltwater

Distribution of Freshwater and Saltwater

How is Earth’s water distributed among saltwater and freshwater • Earth is known as the “blue planet”

because over 70% of Earth’s surface is covered with water.

• Most of Earth’s freshwater is found in the polar ice caps near the North and South Poles.

• From largest to smallest, the amounts of water on Earth are salt water (97%), solid fresh water (2%), liquid fresh water (1%).

How is Earth’s water distributed among saltwater and freshwater • From largest to smallest, the amounts of

water on Earth are salt water (97%), solid fresh water (2%), liquid fresh water (1%).

Salt Water• Most of the water on Earth is found in

Earth’s oceans• Oceans contain salt water.

• In order of size from largest to smallest, Earth’s oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.

Fresh Water• Most of the Earth’s freshwater is located

in the polar caps (ice).• Underground water, lakes, rivers, and

glaciers hold the rest of Earth’s surface freshwater.

• The largest portion of the Earth’s liquid freshwater is trapped between underground layers of rock. This trapped freshwater is called groundwater.

• A glacier is a very slow moving river of ice.

Distribution of Water on Earth• Saltwater oceans and (salt) lakes (97%)• Freshwater (3%)

– Of the total Freshwater on Earth:76% of freshwater is ice

– 12% of freshwater is Shallow Groundwater – 11% of freshwater is Deep Groundwater – 0.34% of freshwater is found in Lakes and

Rivers – 0.037% of freshwater is Water Vapor

• All living things share less than 1% of total water on Earth!

Groundwater

Groundwater