Download 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