Surface Water

Earth is called the "Blue Planet" because more than 75% of the surface is covered in water. Due to Earth’s position in space, water exists naturally as a solid, liquid, and a gas. Earth contains solid water, in the form of ice. There is water vapor, in the form of gas in the atmosphere, and there is liquid water all over the surface in the oceans, rivers, lakes, and groundwater. The world’s water supply continually recycles itself through the water cycle. This cycle can affect the geology of the rocks exposed at the surface.

Essential Questions

• What are the processes involved in the water cycle?
• What are sources of freshwater pollution?