We use water for everything. Check out these facts that explore freshwater, the animals that live in it, and how we use it.1. When a river otter dives, its ears and nose close tightly to keep water out.
2. Since 1999, about 430 dams in the United States have been removed, allowing rivers to return to their natural flow.
3. The armored catfish may look as if it shimmers, but its sheen is actually the reflection of a thin layer of crystals underneath its skin.
4. Male platypuses--aquatic mammals that live near rivers and lakes in eastern Australia and the island of Tasmania--are venomous.
5. More Americans fish than play tennis or golf.
6. The Nile, the world's longest river, stretches about 4,000 miles--the length of more than 42 million dollar bills lined up end to end.
7. The rain that falls today is the same freshwater that dinosaurs drank.
8. Freshwater makes up less than three percent of the Earth's water.
9. A bath uses 75 percent more water than a five-minute shower.
10. The snake-necked turtle, found in marshes and shallow waters of Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea, smells like a skunk.
11. More than 3-5 million miles of rivers and streams flow through the United States.
12. Every person in the United States uses about 100 gallons--or 1,600 cups--of water every day.
13. Cold water weighs more than hot water.
14. Florida's Everglades National Park--a wetlands home to panthers, alligators, and leatherback turtles--covers an area about the size of Delaware.
15. A minnow--a small, silvery fish found in ponds, lakes, and rivers--has its teeth in its throat.
16. Dragonfly larvae live underwater before they become adults that fly.
17. A type of salamander called a mudpuppy spends its enter life underwater like a fish.
18. A hippopotamus can walk along the bottoms of lakes and rivers.
19. It takes 2,900 gallons of water to produce one pair of jeans.
20. Less than one percent of the Earth's water is available for us to use. You can help protect it! Learn how you can conserve freshwater and the plants and animals that live there by visiting National Geographic's Freshwater site.
Read 25 Ways You Can Be a Water Hero
From National Geographic KIDS magazine, June/July, 2011
12. Every person in the United States uses about 100 gallons--or 1,600 cups--of water every day.
13. Cold water weighs more than hot water.
14. Florida's Everglades National Park--a wetlands home to panthers, alligators, and leatherback turtles--covers an area about the size of Delaware.
15. A minnow--a small, silvery fish found in ponds, lakes, and rivers--has its teeth in its throat.
16. Dragonfly larvae live underwater before they become adults that fly.
17. A type of salamander called a mudpuppy spends its enter life underwater like a fish.
18. A hippopotamus can walk along the bottoms of lakes and rivers.
19. It takes 2,900 gallons of water to produce one pair of jeans.
20. Less than one percent of the Earth's water is available for us to use. You can help protect it! Learn how you can conserve freshwater and the plants and animals that live there by visiting National Geographic's Freshwater site.
Read 25 Ways You Can Be a Water Hero
From National Geographic KIDS magazine, June/July, 2011
If only 1% of water is useful to humans, how come each human, on average, drinks 23,000 gallons of water by the time they die.