LAKES AND RIVERS

How much of Earth's surface freshwater is found in lakes? 3% 25% 50% 87%

Lakes account for 87% of Earth's fresh surface water. That may sound like a lot, but remember that only 3% of Earth's water is freshwater. Of that 3%, 99.7% is in glaciers, icecaps, groundwater, and the atmosphere. This leaves only 0.3% left for lakes, rivers, streams, and swamps. 87%

The Dead Sea contains saltwater. Most of its water leaves through _____. precipitation evaporation groundwater seepage rivers and streams

Lakes, without an outlet for water to leave, can become salty. Most of the water in landlocked lakes leaves through evaporation evaporation

Which of the following statements is true? More of Earth's freshwater is found in rivers than in lakes. More of Earth's freshwater is found underground than in lakes. Rivers flow from areas of low ground to areas of high ground. Most lakes are found near Earth's equator.

More of Earth's freshwater is found underground than in lakes

Most lakes were formed from _____. melting glaciers shrinking oceans volcanic eruptions excessive precipitation

Most of Earth's lakes formed after the last Ice Age. When the glaciers melted, the water drained into these basins, and became lakes. melting glaciers

The beginning of a river is called the _____. mouth source watershed tributary

The beginning of a river is the source, and the source is often in mountains, where water from melting snow and precipitation run easily downhill. source

Rivers ____. flow downhill because of gravity are large bodies of contained water usually end in mountainous areas are usually made of saltwater

The river flows from high areas to low areas, until it empties into a larger body of water, like a lake, a larger river, or the ocean flow downhill because of gravity

Water leaves a lake through _____. the ground precipitation melting snow shrinking glaciers

Water is released through evaporation, rivers, streams, and the ground. the ground

tributary

a small creek or stream that feeds a larger river or lake

A watershed is _____. an area where all water drains into the same river system the start of a river system the location where tributaries form rivers a depression left by glaciers which forms a lake

an area where all water drains into the same river system

watershed

area of land where all the draining water goes into the same river system