Look at this map of the world. Look at all the water there is. Water covers about 71% of the Earth. That is a lot of water.
Most of this water is saltwater. Saltwater is water that has salt in it. Most of the water on Earth is saltwater. All of our oceans and seas are made of saltwater. Humans cannot live in saltwater. But many animals call oceans and seas their home. There is a lot of life in saltwater areas.
The rest of the water in the world is freshwater. Freshwater is water that has no salt. It is water that we can drink. There is not a lot of freshwater on Earth. Only 3% of all the water on Earth is freshwater. Even that is not all water that we can drink. Most of the freshwater on Earth is frozen. This fresh water is actually ice in the polar regions. The ice does not have any salt, but we cannot drink ice.
So what does that leave us? Only 1% of all the water on Earth is fresh water that we can drink. That is not a lot of drinking water. For now, it is enough, but it might run out in the future. We need to protect our freshwater sources.
We can find freshwater in many places. Rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds are all made of fresh water. A river is freshwater that is moving.
Streams are usually smaller than rivers. A lake is freshwater that is not moving. Lakes are usually inland. This means they have land all around them. Ponds are usually smaller than lakes. All of these are sources of freshwater.
There are a few other places we find water. We find it in wetlands like swamps and marshes. You can find freshwater, and saltwater swamps. Some are inland and some are coastal. Swamps are fascinating and full of life.
Water is essential to life on Earth. People, plants, and animals all need water to survive.