The Pacific Ocean is three times bigger than Asia, the biggest continent on Earth. It covers nearly one-third of the Earth’s surface. Its widest part is about 17,700 km or 11,000 miles. That distance would take you halfway around the world.
Ninety seven per cent of all the water on Earth is salty. Only 3 per cent is fresh water. Of that 3 per cent of fresh water, over 2 per cent is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers. And that means that less than 1 per cent of that 3 per cent fresh water is found in lakes, rivers and underground.
What does salty water contain? Well, 96 per cent of salt water is pure water. There is 3 per cent common salt in it. That makes it 99 per cent. The remaining one per cent is made up of more than 80 elements, including sulphate, magnesium, bromide, calcium, potassium, strontium, boron, fluoride and gold. Some seas have more salt than others.
Have you ever heard of a salty ice cube? No, and there is a simple reason for it. Old sea ice holds almost no salt at all. That is a great relief for people who live in the frozen Arctic, surrounded by ice all year long. All they have to do is melt the ice — and their fresh drinking water is ready.
Word treasure
- sulphate
- — a type of salt found in seawater
- bromide
- — a type of salt that helps preserve food
- Eskimos
- — people living in icy regions, now also known as Inuit
