A Wonderleaf question
Why is the ocean salty?
a real page from the book
The ocean is salty because rain and rivers carry dissolved minerals from rocks into the sea, and the water that evaporates leaves those minerals behind. Over a very long time, sodium and chloride built up until seawater became the salty mix we know.
The balance is not random. New minerals still arrive from rivers and deep-sea vents, while some salt gets buried in mud, trapped in drying pools, or used by living things. The ocean keeps a steady kind of salt balance.
Wonder words
- minerals
- sodium
- chloride
- evaporation
Try it out
Taste a tiny pinch of salt in water, then leave a spoonful on a plate overnight and see what remains.
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