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The total volume of water in rivers is estimated at 2,120 km 3 (510 cu mi), or 0.49% of the surface fresh water on Earth. [2] Rivers and basins are often compared not according to their static volume, but to their flow of water, or surface run off. The distribution of river runoff across the Earth's surface is very uneven.
The base data for this article are from The Water Encyclopedia (1990). [2] Where volume data from more recent surveys or other authoritative sources have been used, that usage is referenced in the respective entry. The total volume of Earth's lakes is 199,000 km 3. [1]
The following terms are used in connection with the volume of reservoirs: Nominal volume Capacity The total volume of all water held behind a dam at the maximum level possible. Initial volume Design volume The possible volume within the reservoir after it first opens. Many rivers are high in silt that over time deposits behind a dam reducing ...
It can be thought of as a list of the biggest rivers on Earth, measured by a specific metric. For context, the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool is 2,500 m 3 (88,000 cu ft). The average flow rate at the mouth of the Amazon is sufficient to fill more than 83 such pools each second.
Earth's approximate water volume (the total water supply of the world) is 1.386 billion cubic kilometres (333 million cubic miles). [24] Liquid water is found in bodies of water, such as an ocean, sea, lake, river, stream, canal, pond, or puddle. The majority of water on Earth is seawater. Water is also present in the atmosphere in solid ...
This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all of Earth's water is contained in its global ocean, covering 70.8% of Earth's crust. The remaining 29.2% of Earth's crust is land, most of which is located in the form of continental landmasses within Earth's land hemisphere.
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either freshwater from natural sources, or water produced artificially from other sources, such as from reclaimed water or desalinated water (). 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh ...
Water is the most abundant substance on Earth's surface and also the third most abundant molecule in the universe, after H 2 and CO. [23] 0.23 ppm of the earth's mass is water and 97.39% of the global water volume of 1.38 × 10 9 km 3 is found in the oceans. [84]