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Bodies of Water Facts & Worksheets

Water is located all over our planet and each type of water body has different functions, features, and sizes.

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Our planet is covered by over 70% water and it is home to different kinds of animals, from very small krill to massive whales. Water is located all over our planet and each type of water body has different functions, features, and sizes.

See the fact file below for more information on the Bodies of Water or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Bodies of Water worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

RIVERS

  • A river is a moving stream of water and flows in channels.
  • The bottom part is called the bed and its sides are called banks.
  • They usually move towards an ocean, lake, pond, or another river.
  • A river’s water source can be melting snow, rain, or glaciers.
  • Rivers normally contain freshwater and flow downhill from their source.
  • Upstream, also called upriver, is the direction of the river’s water source.
  • Downstream, also called downriver, is the direction in which the water flows.
  • There are over 76 rivers in the world.
  • Since rivers flow downhill, most people think that all rivers flow south, but 4 out of the 10 longest rivers on our planet flow north.
  • The longest river in the world is the Nile River which is roughly 6650 kilometers long.
  • After the Nile River is the Amazon River, which is 6400 kilometers in length.
  • Rivers are a good source of trade and transport to humans.

STREAMS

  • Streams are a small version of rivers.
  • They are also called brooks or creeks.
  • They are generally a free-flowing channel of water that follow the pull of gravity downhill.
  • They run into other streams, lakes, or the ocean.
  • The hills between the stream and other bodies of water create watersheds.

LAKES

  • Lakes are huge bodies of water that are surrounded by land, and unlike rivers, they are not part of an ocean.
  • Unlike rivers, lakes do not flow – they are relatively still bodies of water.
  • They can contain either salt or freshwater and are much larger than ponds.
  • The world’s largest lowest lake, The Dead Sea, is located in Israel and is 1,371 feet below sea level.
  • The world’s highest lake, Ojos del Salado, is located in a crater in the Andes Mountains on the border between Chile and Argentina. It is 20,965 feet high.
  • Another type of lake is called a subglacial lake which is permanently covered by ice.
  • The largest subglacial lake is Lake Vostok in Antarctica. Lakes can form from different systems such as craters of volcanoes, sinkholes, or even man made through dams.
  • The Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world and there are five different countries that lie on its coastline – Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.
  • There are over 130 rivers that flow towards the Caspian Sea; the largest one is the Volga River.

GULF

  • A gulf is a part of the ocean that goes into land.
  • Gulfs are different in size, shape, and depth as they are formed by movements in the Earth’s crust.
  • The Earth’s tectonic plates rift or break apart, creating a gulf.
  • They often make excellent harbors.
  • Many important trading centers are located in gulfs.
  • Some gulfs are connected to the ocean through narrow passages of water called straits.
  • Some gulfs can also have wide openings and are sometimes indistinguishable from larger bodies of water.
  • Famous gulfs include the Mexican Gulf, the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the Persian Gulf.
  • The Mexican Gulf is the world’s largest gulf.
  • The Gulf of Carpentaria is located on Australia’s northeast coast.
  • The Persian Gulf is important to Middle Eastern countries for trade, access to the Indian Ocean, and the vast deposits of petroleum in this area.

OCEAN

  • Earth is covered in saltwater and it is around 71% of our planet.
  • This huge body of water is called the ocean.
  • It is divided into five major oceans and they are all connected.
  • It is spread around the seven continents.
  • Humans have only explored 5% of the wildlife present in oceans.
  • The average depth of the world’s oceans is around 12,200 feet.
  • The world’s longest mountain range, called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, is actually under the ocean.
  • Ocean tides are caused by Earth’s rotation while the moon and sun’s gravitational pull acts on the ocean waters.
  • Roughly 70% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the oceans.
  • The Pacific Ocean, located between Asia/Australia and North/South America, is the largest of the five major oceans and covers about 30% of the Earth’s surface.
  • The second largest ocean is the Atlantic Ocean, which separates Europe/Africa from North/South America.
  • The Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world and covers 14% of the Earth’s surface. It separates East Africa from Australia.
  • The Arctic Ocean, also referred to as the Arctic Mediterranean Sea, is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s five major oceans.
  • The Arctic Ocean is the coldest ocean in the world. It touches three continents: Europe, Asia, and North America.
  • The Southern Ocean is the ocean around Antarctica.
  • The waters of Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans surround the continent of Antarctica.

WATERFALL

  • A waterfall is the descent of a body of water, like a stream or a river, over a ledge of bedrock.
  • It is also an area where meltwater from snow or ice descends over the edge of an ice shelf or iceberg.

IMPORTANCE OF BODIES OF WATER

  • We all need water to survive.
  • Access to water is essential to life.
  • Population growth requires substantial amounts of water.
  • Large bodies of water contain resources vital to human societies.
  • Fish and shellfish are important resources for many human civilizations because they are very high in protein and vitamins that benefit human development.
  • You can transport larger things on water and over greater distances.
  • The world’s first trade economies were developed around water.
  • In the early years of trading, people depend on bodies of water in order to trade their goods.

Bodies of Water Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Bodies of Water across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Bodies of Water worksheet that are perfect for teaching students about the Bodies of Water. Our planet is covered by over 70% water and it is home to different kinds of animals, from very small krill to massive whales. Water is located all over our planet and each type of water body has different functions, features, and sizes.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Bodies of Water Facts
  • Body of Water Search
  • Sketch Time
  • Ocean Map
  • Official Oceans
  • River of Facts
  • Lakes of the World
  • Term Crossword
  • Water or Wrong
  • Guided Reading
  • Without Water

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Link will appear as Bodies of Water Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, March 26, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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