SECTION

2 Water on Earth
TEKS 6B, 7B, 7C If YOU lived there...
You live in the desert Southwest, where heavy water use and a lack
What You Will Learn… of rainfall have led to water shortages. Your city plans to begin a
water conservation program that asks people to limit how much
Main Ideas
water they use. Many of your neighbors have complained that the
1. Salt water and freshwater
make up Earth’s water supply. program is unnecessary. Others support the plan to save water.
2. In the water cycle, water
circulates from Earth’s How do you feel about the city’s water plan?
surface to the atmosphere
and back again.
3. Water plays an important role
in people’s lives.
Building Background Although water covers much of Earth’s
surface, water shortages, like those in the American Southwest, are
The Big Idea
common all over the planet. Because water is vital to the survival of
Water is a dominant feature
on Earth’s surface and is es- all living things, geographers study Earth’s water supply.
sential for life.

Key Terms Earth’s Water Supply

freshwater, p. 31 Think of the different uses for water. We use water to cook and
glaciers, p. 31 clean, we drink it, and we grow crops with it. Water is used for
surface water, p. 31
recreation, to generate electricity, and even to travel from place
precipitation, p. 31
groundwater, p. 32 to place. Water is perhaps the most important and abundant
water vapor, p. 32 resource on Earth. In fact, water covers some two-thirds of the
water cycle, p. 33 planet. Understanding Earth’s water supply and how it affects
our lives is an important part of geography.

Use the graphic organizer online to Earth’s Distribution of Water

take notes on Earth’s water.
Earth’s water supply is divided
into two main types—salt water and
freshwater. Humans, plants, and
animals rely on Earth’s freshwater
supply for survival.

30 Chapter 2
Salt Water One form of freshwater is surface
Although water covers much of the planet, water. Surface water is water that is found
we cannot use most of it. About 97 percent in Earth’s streams, rivers, and lakes. It may
of the Earth’s water is salt water. Because seem that there is a great deal of water
salt water contains high levels of salt and in our lakes and rivers, but only a tiny
other minerals, it is unsafe to drink. amount of Earth’s water supply—less than
In general, salt water is found in Earth’s 1 percent—comes from surface water.
oceans. Oceans are vast bodies of water Streams and rivers are a common
covering some 71 percent of the planet’s source of surface water. Streams form when
surface. Earth’s oceans are made up of precipitation collects in a narrow channel
smaller bodies of water such as seas, gulfs, and flows toward the ocean. Precipitation
bays, and straits. Altogether, Earth’s oceans is water that falls to Earth’s surface as rain,
cover some 139 million square miles (360 snow, sleet, or hail. In turn, streams join
million square km) of the planet’s surface. together to form rivers. Any smaller stream
Some of Earth’s lakes contain salt water. or river that flows into a larger stream or
The Great Salt Lake in Utah, for example, is river is called a tributary. For example, the
a saltwater lake. As salt and other minerals Missouri River is the largest tributary of the
have collected in the lake, which has no Mississippi River.
outlet, the water has become salty. Lakes are another important source
of surface water. Some lakes were formed
Freshwater as rivers filled low-lying areas with water.
Since the water in Earth’s oceans is too Other lakes, like the Great Lakes along the
salty to use, we must rely on other sources U.S.–Canada border, were formed when
for freshwater. Freshwater, or water with- glaciers carved deep holes in Earth’s surface
out salt, makes up only about 3 percent of and deposited water as they melted.
our total water supply. Much of that fresh- Most of Earth’s available freshwater is
water is locked in Earth’s glaciers  , large stored underground. As precipitation falls
areas of slow-moving ice, and in the ice of to Earth, much of it is absorbed into the
the Antarctic and Arctic regions. Most of ground, filling spaces in the soil and rock.
the freshwater we use everyday is found in
lakes, in rivers, and under Earth’s surface.

Salt Water Earth’s oceans

contain some 97 percent of Freshwater Freshwater from
the planet’s water supply. lakes, rivers, and streams makes
Unfortunately, this water is up only a fraction of Earth’s
too salty to drink. water supply.

Planet Earth 31
 Water found below Earth’s surface is called The Water Cycle
groundwater. In some places on Earth,
When you think of water, you probably
groundwater naturally bubbles from the
visualize a liquid—a flowing stream, a
ground as a spring. More often, however,
glass of ice-cold water, or a wave hitting
people obtain groundwater by digging
the beach. But did you know that water
wells, or deep holes dug into the ground to
is the only substance on Earth that occurs
reach the water.
naturally as a solid, a liquid, and a gas? We
Reading Check Contrasting How is salt see water as a solid in snow and ice and
water different from freshwater? as a liquid in oceans and rivers. Water also
occurs in the air as an invisible gas called
water vapor.
Water is always moving. As water heats
Close-up
up and cools down, it moves from the
The Water Cycle planet’s surface to the atmosphere, or the
mass of air that surrounds Earth. One of
Energy from the sun drives the water cycle. Surface water the most important processes in nature
evaporates into Earth’s atmosphere, where it condenses,
then falls back to Earth as precipitation. This cycle repeats
continuously, providing us with a fairly constant water supply.

Condensation
occurs when
water vapor cools
and forms clouds.

When the droplets in

clouds become too
heavy, they fall to
Earth as precipitation.

Runoff is excess
precipitation that flows
over land into rivers,
streams, and oceans.

ANALYSIS
skill Analyzing Visuals
How does evaporation differ from
precipitation?

32 Chapter 2
is the water cycle. The water cycle is the Water and People
movement of water from Earth’s surface to
How many times a day do you think about
the atmosphere and back.
water? Many of us rarely give it a second
The sun’s energy drives the water cycle.
thought, yet water is crucial for survival.
As the sun heats water on Earth’s surface,
Water problems such as the lack of water,
some of that water evaporates, or turns
polluted water, and flooding are concerns
from liquid to gas, or water vapor. Water
for people all around the world. Water also F OCUS ON
vapor then rises into the air. As the vapor
provides us with countless benefits, such as R EADING
rises, it cools. The cooling causes the water
energy and recreation. Look at the word
vapor to condense, or change from a vapor countless in this
into tiny liquid droplets. These droplets paragraph. The
join together to form clouds. If the drop- Water Problems suffix -less means
unable to. What
lets become heavy enough, precipitation One of the greatest water problems people does countless
occurs—that is, the water falls back to face is a lack of available freshwater. Many mean?

Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. places face water shortages as a result of
When that precipitation falls back droughts, or long periods of lower-than-
to Earth’s surface, some of the water is normal precipitation. Another cause of
absorbed into the soil as groundwater. water shortages is overuse. In places like
Excess water, called runoff, flows over land the southwestern United States, where the
and collects in streams, rivers, and oceans. population has grown rapidly, the heavy
Because the water cycle is constantly demand for water has led to shortages.
repeating, it allows us to maintain a fairly Even where water is plentiful, it may
constant supply of water on Earth. not be clean enough to use. If chemicals
and household wastes make their way into
Reading Check Finding Main Ideas What streams and rivers, they can contaminate
is the water cycle? the water supply. Polluted water can carry
diseases. These diseases may harm humans,
plants, and animals.
Flooding is another water problem
that affects people around the world.
Heavy rains often lead to flooding, which
can damage property and threaten lives.
One example of dangerous flooding
As energy from the sun
occurred in Bangladesh in 2004. Severe
heats water on Earth’s
surface, the water evapo- floods there destroyed roads and schools,
rates, or turns to water affecting about 25 million people.
vapor, and rises to the
atmosphere.
Water’s Benefits
Water does more than just quench our
thirst. It provides us with many benefits,
such as food, power, and even recreation.
Water’s most important benefit is that
it provides us with food to eat. Everything
we eat depends on water. For example,
fruits and vegetables need water to grow.

Planet Earth 33
 The Benefits of Water
Many people take advantage of the
recreational and agricultural benefits
that water provides.

Animals also need water to live and grow. boat. Although recreation is not critical for
As a result, we use water to farm and raise our survival, it does make our lives richer
animals so that we will have food to eat. and more enjoyable.
Water is also an important source of
energy. Using dams, we harness the pow- Reading Check Summarizing How does
er of moving water to produce electricity. water affect people’s lives?
Electricity provides power to air-condition
or heat our homes, to run our washers and
dryers, and to keep our food cold.   
SUmmary and PReview In this section
Water also provides us with recreation. you learned that water is essential for life
Rivers, lakes, and oceans make it possible on Earth. Next, you will learn about the
for us to swim, to fish, to surf, or to sail a shapes on Earth’s surface.

Section 2 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ

Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and Places Critical Thinking

1. a. Describe Name and describe the different types 4. Sequencing Draw the graphic Heat from the
of water that make up Earth’s water supply. organizer at right. Then use your sun evaporates
water on Earth.
b. Analyze Why is only a small percentage of notes and the graphic organizer
Earth’s freshwater available to us? to identify the stages in Earth’s
c. Elaborate In your opinion, which is more water cycle.
important—surface water or groundwater? Why?
2. a. Recall What drives the water cycle? Focus on Writing
b. Make Inferences From what bodies of water do
you think most evaporation occurs? Why? 5. Learning about Water Consider
3. a. Define What is a drought? what you have learned about water
b. Analyze How does water support life on Earth? in this section. How might you
The water
c. Evaluate What water problem do you think is describe water in your haiku? What cycle repeats.
most critical in your community? Why? words might you use to describe
Earth’s water supply?

34 Chapter 2