On the Earth today there are approximately 600,000 different types of plants and over one million different kinds of animals. Remember that one of the goals of geographers is to understand how lifeforms are distributed throughout the Earth. With nearly 2 million different types of lifeforms on Earth, the task of mapping out and understanding […]
For hundreds of millions of years, the chemicals and elements found on Earth have remained relatively constant, or in other words, they have changed very little. The amount of one element or chemical in the Earth’s surface is practically the same as it was many millions of years ago. This consistency is one of the […]
The biosphere is defined as the sphere or area around the planet Earth where life exists. This zone of life is vast. Most lifeforms live on or near the surface of Earth. However, some live deep within the hydrosphere (oceans, lakes and streams), while others thrive in the depths of the lithosphere (solid portion of […]
Water found on the surface of continents and islands is referred to as surface water. Surface water makes up only one fourth of one percent, or 0.25%, of the total water found on Earth. This water is found in rivers, streams, lakes, springs and swamps, and is extremely important to the lives of all land […]
Second only to the ocean in the amount of water storage, the ice of the Earth makes up more than twice as much water as all other types of water storage, including ground water, lakes, streams, etc. It has been estimated that there is enough water locked up in the form of ice to […]
The name ‘tsunami’ is Japanese. It means harbor wave. Tsunamis used to be called tidal waves, but they actually have nothing to do with the tides. The sudden displacement of huge amounts of water causes tsunamis. Most happen as a result of an undersea earthquake. If the earthquake is powerful enough, the sudden movement of […]
The waters of the Earth’s oceans are for the most part in liquid form. What happens when you take a half full bottle of water and shake it up? Do you see the bubbles swirling rapidly around inside the water bottle? While liquid water molecules do generally attract one another forming a body of […]
The ocean can extend in some places down to depths of several miles, or kilometers. However, most of the action takes place in the first couple hundred feet, or meters. Below this depth it is too dark, cold and murky for much to happen. Across the entire planet, the Earth’s oceans are believed to be […]
Because most of the Earth’s water is found in the oceans, in order to understand the hydrosphere, we must understand these massive bodies of water. Fortunately, this is easier today than it has ever been. Modern technologies allow scientists to study the oceans in much greater detail than was possible to previous generations. You are […]
Precipitation takes place when water condensation becomes sufficient that water droplets are heavy enough to fall back to the surface of the Earth. Precipitation is a very common phenomena in the atmosphere of our Earth. This precipitation always comes from clouds. Yet most clouds do not form precipitation. This is because the water droplets and […]
