The Water Planet

1
The Water Planet

• Chapter 4/Section 1

2
The Geography of Water

• Water is our most important resource!
• How long can you live without water?
• About 1 week
• We take water for granted
• Water fountains in school
• 25 gallons to take a shower
• 125 gallons to produce 1 egg

3
Essential For Agriculture

• Irrigation
• Watering of land through pipes, ditches, or
  canals
• Texas, California, and Arizona rely on irrigation
  
• California gets water from Sierra Nevadas
• 85 of water supply goes to irrigation

4
Industrial Use of Water

• Water is necessary for industries to function
• Coolant
• Lubricant
• Industrialization takes place at locations where
  water is accessible

5
Water as a power source

• Hydroelectricity
• Water drives turbines
• Examples of Hydroelectric Dams
• Carlyle Lake
• Grand Coulee
• Washington
• Largest Dam in U.S.

6
Water as a power source

• Transportation
• Oceans, Rivers, and Lakes
• Have been used since the beginning of time
• Why?
• Concerns
• Over Use
• Pollution

7
Characteristics of Water

• Can be found as
• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas
• Only substance able to do so

8
Characteristics of Water

• Can dissolve almost anything over time..
• Even rocks

9
Characteristics of Water

• Heats and cools very slowly
• Moderates air and surface temperatures
• Without water earths temperature would be too
  high to sustain life.

10
Distribution of Water

• Water is not evenly distributed on earth
• Why is this a problem?
• 97 is found in the oceans
• More than 2 is frozen in polar ice caps
• 99 is either frozen or salty
• Less than 1 is freshwater
• Where is it found
• Underground, lakes, rivers, and streams
• Great Lakes-largest freshwater source

11
Hydrologic Cycle

• Driven by solar energy
• Most enters the atmosphere after being heated by
  the sun and evaporating from the ocean
• Evaporation causes water vapor to rise into the
  air
• As it rises it cools and condenses
• Gas to liquid drops
• Droplets to clouds
• If heavy enough they fall as precipitation

12
Hydrologic Cycle

• Some precipitation falls on land
• Falls as snow in mountains or polar areas
• Some flows off to rivers, streams, or lakes
• Ground absorbs precipitation
• What happens?
• Which leads to.
• Transpiration
• Evapotranspiration
• Hydrologic Cycle

13
Hydrologic Cycle