Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Where Is Earth's Freshwater?
When you think of Earth's freshwater, where do you think most of it is found? If you said in rivers and lakes, you'd be wrong.
Snow falls on high mountains or near the poles. Most of it will be stored as polar ice caps, glaciers, or "permanent" snow. In fact, experts estimate that over two-thirds of Earth's freshwater is stored as ice.
Although you can't see it, water is found under the ground. Some stays in the soil. Some of it seeps into streams, rivers, or oceans. Gravity causes some water to percolate, seeping farther down through pores in rock to be stored in underground aquifers for very long periods of time. An aquifer is a layer of rock, sand, or gravel that contains water. Wells are drilled into aquifers to supply water to homes or towns. As water moves through the water cycle, it is purified. As much as thirty percent of the Earth's freshwater is groundwater.
