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Surface Water
Seventy-one percent of the Earth's surface is covered by
water.
Earth's surface water is held in two different
kinds of water bodies:
Salt Water Bodies and Fresh Water Bodies.
Salt Water Bodies where surface water is
found are bays, estruaries, fjords, gulfs,
harbors, oceans, seas, sounds, and straits.
All of these geographic features hold
salt water
The process of removing salt from salt water is
called Desalination.
Images Copyright 2002
by TASA Graphics Arts, Inc.
Fresh Water Bodies where surface water is
found are: coves, creeks, inlets, lagoons, lakes, ponds, reservoirs,
rivers, rivulets, streams, tributaries, and water falls.
Freshwater is defined as water that contains less
than .5 parts per thousand of dissolved
salt. Ninety-nine percent of the fresh water is
locked up in snow and ice or in groundwater
aquifers. Lakes, rivers, and other surface fresh water bodies make up .01%
of all the water
in the world.
The top surface of groundwater is called the watertable. When the surface water is high enough,
ground water comes to the surface naturally, like springs, lakes, ponds,
and rivers
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The region of surface water that receives sunlight
is called the Littoral Zone.
In the littoral zone water plants are able to root
and grow.
Photograph Courtesy
of the Natural Resources Conservation Service
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