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Natural Sources of Water. What is a “natural” source of water? Where on Earth do I find this water?. Until the year 2000, there were four recognized oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic.
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Natural Sources of Water What is a “natural” source of water? Where on Earth do I find this water?
Until the year 2000, there were four recognized oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic. In the Spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization recognized a new ocean: the Southern Ocean. About 71% of the Earth is covered by oceans. Ocean water is salty. The Earth’s oceans are connected and form a continuous body of water. Oceans
Oceans Arctic Atlantic Pacific Indian Southern
Seas • There are also many seas. • Seas are smaller branches of an ocean. • Seas are often partly enclosed by land. • The largest seas are the South China Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Seas North Sea South China Sea Mediterranean Sea Caribbean Sea Tasman Sea
Rivers • A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake or another stream. • Usually larger streams are called rivers while smaller streams are called creeks, or brooks.
Rivers Major Rivers of The World
Rivers of Texas Which river do you live near?
Lakes • A lake is an inland body of water that is not part of the ocean. • They larger and deeper than a pond. • Most lakes on Earth are freshwater. • More than 60% of the Earth’s lakes are in Canada.
Lakes Crater Lake: Oregon Great Salt Lake:Utah Lake Michigan: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana Lake Tahoe: Nevada, California Caddo Lake: Texas
Ponds • A pond is a body of water smaller than a lake. • Ponds are sometimes defined as “a man-made or natural body of water that is between 1m2 and 2 hectares in area, and holds water for four months of the year or more”. • 1m2 is about this big, 2 hectares is about the size of two track fields
Canals • Canals are artificial channels for water. • There are two types of canals: • Irrigation canals, which are used for the delivery of water • Waterways, which are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers or oceans.
Glaciers • Presently, 10% of land area is covered with glaciers. • Glaciers store about 75% of the world's freshwater. • In the United States, glaciers cover over 75,000 square kilometers, with most of the glaciers located in Alaska. • Glacial ice often appears blue when it has become very dense. Mt. Cook: New Zealand Mt. Hood: Oregon
Polar Ice Caps • Earth’s north pole is covered by floating pack ice (sea ice) over the Arctic Ocean. • The land mass of the Earth's south pole in Antarctica, is covered by the Antarctic Ice Sheet. • An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water.
Aquifers • An aquifer is an underground layer of rock that allows water to drip through it. • It can also be an area of gravel, sand, silt or clay from which groundwater can be extracted using a water well.
Puddles? • A puddle is a small accumulation of water, uncontained on a surface. • It can form either in little hollow areas in the surface, or directly upon the flat surface. • A puddle is generally considered to be small enough to step over or shallow enough to walk through. • Puddles commonly form during rainstorms.