SCIENCEUNIT 10

THE WATERS OF THE PLANET

• Water on EarthThe water on Earth is salt or fresh water. Mostfresh water is found in ice, in lakes and rivers orunder the surface of the Earth. The water in oceans and seas is salt water.

The movement of water from the Earth to theatmosphere and from the atmosphere to theEarth is called the water cycle.

• The Hydrography of SpainA drainage basin is an area of land from whichwater drains into a river.

The Iberian Peninsula has three drainage basins: the Cantabrian, The Atlantic and theMediterranean.

The rivers of the Cantabrian drainage basin

They are short rivers with a lot of water and regular flow.

The rivers of the Atlantic drainage basin

They are long rivers with little water and irregular flow.

The rivers of the Mediterranean drainage basin

They are long rivers with little water and irregular flow.

Canary and Balearic Island

In the Canary and Balearic islands there are no permanent rivers. The water runs across the surface as torrents.

The drainage basins of the Iberian Peninsula

Lesson vocabularySalt: salado

Fresh: dulce

To find: encontrar (found : participio: encontrado)

Ice: hielo

Lake: lago

River: rio

Surface: superficie

Water cycle: ciclo del agua

Drainage basin: vertiente hidrográfica

To drain: trancurrir

Short: corto

Flow: flujo

Long: largo

Lot of: mucho

Little: poco

Permanent: permanente

Torrent: torrente