Oceans, Lakes and Rivers

Rivers, lakes, oceans and streams are a few different sources of water on Earth.

Oceans take up most of the Earth’s surface, so salt water is the most common on Earth. 97% of Earth’s water is salt water in the oceans.

A river flows from place to place, while a lake is surrounded by land on all sides.

Rain fills up lakes and can make rivers fuller as more water flows down them.

A glacier is frozen water located in the colder parts of the Earth.

To conserve water you can turn the water off when you brush your teeth or take shorter showers. There are many other things you can do to conserve water.

Salt water is all the water found in the oceans. It has salt in it.

Fresh water is all the other types of water found on Earth that is not salt water. Fresh water is found in lakes, rivers, glaciers and underground.

Groundwater is fresh water found beneath the Earth’s surface. Groundwater can be found in the cracks and spaces between soil, sand and rocks.

A well can be used to get groundwater out of the ground by lowering a bucket into a hole. Sometimes groundwater is pumped out of the ground.

Alligators and beavers are some of the animals found in a river. Frogs and ducks can be found in lakes. Many plants are also found in lakes and rivers.

A glacier is a huge chunk of frozen fresh water found in the coldest places on the Earth. Glaciers are formed from lots of snow and ice that becomes hard over time.