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Fresh water

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

A beautiful cove at Shamans Rock on Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal, Russia.

Fresh water is water that has only a tiny bit of salt in it. It is very different from seawater, which has lots of salt. Fresh water is very important for all living things, like plants, animals, and people.

You can find fresh water in many places. It is in rivers, lakes, and ponds. It is also hidden deep underground. Only a small part of Earth’s water is fresh water. Much of it is frozen far away in places like Antarctica.

Fresh water is part of Earth’s wonderful water cycle. Water goes up into the air from oceans and lakes, makes clouds, and then falls back to the land as rainfall or snowfall. This helps keep our fresh water supplies full for everyone to use.

Images

A beautiful view of the Amazon River near Iquitos, Peru.
A beautiful view of the transition from sawgrass marshes to coastal habitats in Everglades National Park.
A diagram showing different levels of water salinity from freshwater to brine water.
A beautiful panoramic view of the Presa de las Niñas reservoir in Gran Canaria, Spain.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Fresh water, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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