S T O R E S O F W A T E R
The Earth stores water in several forms - as liquid water, solid ice, or invisible gaseous vapor. Storage occurs in several places - underground, on the surface, in the air, and in living things.
Major reservoirs of water on Earth
Click and investigate any category below:
Table ID.1 - Natural reservoirs of water on Earth.
Note: Values may vary slightly depending on information source.
Natural reservoirs of water on Earth |
Percent of total weight |
Volume of water |
Drinking quality / accessibility |
All water on Earth |
100% |
1,385,984 |
Mostly poor |
Oceans |
96.5% |
1,338,000 |
Saline/ inaccessible without desalination |
Permanent ice |
1.8% |
24,364 |
Usually excellent/inaccessible unless thawed |
Groundwater |
1.7% |
23,400 |
Poor to excellent/ can be pumped from well |
Lakes |
0.013% |
176 |
Poor to excellent/ accessible |
Soil moisture |
0.001% |
17 |
Poor to excellent/ inaccessible |
Moisture in atmosphere |
0.001% |
13 |
inaccessible |
Rivers and swamps |
0.001% |
14 |
Poor to excellent/ accessible |
Living things |
0.0001% |
1 |
Right quality for living things/ inaccessible |
 |
 |
 |
© Copyright 2002 by the UC Regents and the Wyland Foundation.
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Part I - Water, Life and Earth
Section D
Water on Earth
• Intro - Blue Planet
• Stores of Water
• Infinite cycle
• Sculpting the earth
• What's left to drink?
Quiz
Glossary
Resources
Teacher's guide
Information Sources
Contents
• Activity 1.1
How much of the world's water is in lakes?