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Knowledge › Nature

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Nature · Intermediate English

Why is the sea salty?

1Read

Rivers taste fresh, yet they all flow into the sea — so where does the salt come from? From the land.

Rain is slightly acidic. As it runs over rocks and soil, it dissolves tiny amounts of minerals, including salt, and carries them into rivers. Each river carries only a trace, far too little to taste.

Rivers deliver this water to the sea. Then the Sun evaporates pure water from the sea’s surface, but the salt cannot evaporate — it stays behind. Over millions of years, the salt has built up until seawater is about 3.5% salt.

That is why the sea gets saltier over time while rivers stay fresh: rivers are always moving salt out, and the sea is always keeping it.

2Words to learn

dissolveto mix into a liquid until it disappears

minerala natural substance from rocks

tracea very small amount

surfacethe top layer

3Check your understanding

Question 1 of 3Multiple choice

Where does the sea’s salt come from?

4Explain it

Speaking challenge

Explain why rivers are fresh but the sea is salty. Use ‘dissolve’ and ‘evaporate’.

0:45

Say it out loud. Nobody is listening — that’s the point. Mistakes are allowed.

Finished?

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