Fresh Water All fresh water on Earth comes

Fresh Water

All fresh water on Earth comes from precipitation, some of which is evaporated immediately or soaks into the soil, the remaining water is runoff, or water that flows over the ground surface.

River System A river and all its tributaries, or small streams together with the watershed, the land area that supplies water to the system

Ponds and lakes – form when water collects in hollows and low-lying areas of land Wetlands – area of land that is covered with a shallow layer of water during some or all of the year. Three common types are marshes, swamps and bogs • coastal wetlands usually contain a mixture of fresh and salt water, such as salt marshes and mangrove forests

Glaciers Huge mass of ice and snow that moves slowly over land formed in areas where more snow falls each year than melts. • icebergs – broken, or glaciers that have calved into ocean

Underground water Comes from precipitation that soaks into the ground between particles of soil and spaces in layers of rock. • saturated zone – area of permeable rock or soil that is totally filled, or saturated with water; water table – top of saturated zone

Underground water Unsaturated zone – layers of rock and soil above the water table that contain air as well as water, not able to be saturated • aquifer – layer of rock or sediment that holds water and can range in size from a small pond to an area of several states • well – man-made hole drilled below the water table in order to obtain groundwater from an aquifer • artesian well – well, which water rises because of pressure within an aquifer • natural spring – place where groundwater bubbles or flows out of cracks in the rock • geyser – type of hot spring which begins to rise through narrow passages being forced out by heated gases and steam from below