Freshwater and salt water

In your book, Our Wondrous World (Chapter 1), it is raining. Afreen and Jyoti watch tiny raindrops slide down the window. Afreen wonders: where does all this water come from, and where does it go? Before we follow the journey of water, let us see how much water there is on Earth.

Most of the Earth's surface is covered with water, but most of that water is salty. It is the water of the oceans and seas. Salty ocean water is not fit for drinking. Only a small amount of the Earth's water is freshwater, the kind we can drink and use to grow crops.

Your book shows how little freshwater there is. Imagine that all the water on Earth is poured into one glass that holds 200 ml. Then all the freshwater would fit into just one teaspoon, only 5 ml!

Where do we find freshwater? In ponds, lakes and rivers, in glaciers (huge masses of ice on mountains), in rain, and in groundwater under the ground, which we draw out with wells. The sea is NOT a source of freshwater, because its water is salty.