Aquifers, Groundwater, & River Basins

Aquifers, Groundwater and River Basins What is Groundwater? Groundwater is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers. Which of the following is NOT a location that groundwater can be found underground? Soil Sand Rock Volcanoes Aquifers Aquifers produce some of the cleanest water ever. Because there are rocks, sand, gravel, pebbles, etc found within an aquifer. These items have the ability to filter the water found in an aquifer, making it clean enough to use. The area where water fills the aquifer is called the saturated zone (or saturation zone). The top of this zone is called the water table. The water table may be located only a foot below the ground’s surface or it can sit hundreds of feet down. Why is water from an aquifer more likely to be cleaner than water from other sources? because it forms where fresh and salt water meet because it receives water directly from precipitation because it rises to the surface near the ocean because pollutants are filtered by rock and soil deep within Earth Use the information from the above text to fill in the missing words. Aquifers are typically made up of gravel, sand, sandstone, or fractured rock, like limestone. The speed at which groundwater flows depends on the size of the spaces in the soil or rock and how well the spaces are connected. Groundwater supplies are replenished, or recharged, by rain and snow melt that seeps down into the cracks and crevices beneath the land's surface. Groundwater can also be extracted through a well drilled into the aquifer. In areas where material above the aquifer is permeable, pollutants can readily sink into groundwater supplies. A rock layer that collects and stores water is called an aquifer an estuary a glacier a hydrosphere Freshwater Resources...Use the image text to answer the questions found below. Most of earth's fresh water is frozen in polar ice caps. Ice covers nearly all of Antarctica. Ice also covers most of the Arctic Ocean, near the North Pole. Glaciers contain large amounts of frozen water. A glacier is a mass of ice and snow that moves slowly over Earth’s surface. Most of Earth’s surface water is located in rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands. Wetlands are land areas that remain wet for all or part of the year. Wetlands act as sponges in the landscape, collecting and holding rainwater to prevent flooding. They also filter pollutants and sediment out of water. Wetlands can improve the quality of water that will eventually become drinking water for communities. Earth’s surface waters flow through areas called watersheds. A watershed is an area of land where precipitation collects and then drains into a single collection place, often a lake or an ocean. Watersheds are sometimes called drainage basins or river basins. The main function of a watershed, or drainage basin, is to move water from higher to lower elevations. A river is a large, flowing stream of water that is fed by other smaller streams, or tributaries. The watershed, or river basin, is the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. North Carolina contains 17 river basins. Towns and cities often develop around rivers and lakes to take advantage of easily accessible fresh water for drinking and use in industry. Where is most of Earth’s freshwater located? in the clouds in the ice caps in the ocean in the ground Which best explains why all of the Earth’s freshwater is not available for human use? Most of Earth’s freshwater is only in lakes. Most of Earth’s freshwater is underground. Most of Earth’s freshwater is still in the water cycle. Most of Earth’s freshwater is frozen water. Which best describes the characteristics of a river basin? the land drained by a river and its tributaries the land formed when rivers create estuaries and marshes the land at the mouth of a river where water flows into the ocean the land formed as a result of a river flooding