Surface water

Common card · No. 355583

Surface water is liquid water located on top of land, forming open-air waterbodies surrounded by dry land on all sides. Surface water include all streams (rivers, creeks and brooks), lakes, ponds and wetlands, as well as temporary collections such as watering holes and puddles. Most surface water is fresh water (containing less than 1,000 mg/L of dissolved solids, as considered by USGS reports), although brackish, saline and even briny surface water also exist in the forms of tidal rivers, lagoons, saltwater/hypersaline lakes and inland seas. The vast majority of surface water is produced by precipitation and seasonal glacial meltwater from the highlands, while the remainder are contributed by daylighted groundwater such as springs and seeps. Compared to the ocean, terrestrial surface water has significantly wider and more volatile variations in water level, temperature and chemical qualities, as well as vastly different floral and faunal assemblages. Surface water generally flows down...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Florian Fuchs, CC BY 3.0