What is saltwater?

Saltwater is water that has salt mixed into it, just like how you mix sugar into your cereal.

Imagine you have a glass of water, and then you add a spoonful of salt, the kind you use to make your food taste better. You stir it around, and soon the salt disappears into the water. That’s what happens in the ocean: lots of salt has been mixed into the water over a very long time.

Sometimes, when water moves from one place to another, like when it goes up a mountain or down a river, it can carry salt with it. This is kind of like how you carry your backpack when you walk to school: the water carries the salt along its journey.

Over many years, this process happens again and again, which is why the ocean has so much salt in it.

Saltwater is important because it’s home to many fish, whales, and other sea creatures. It also helps shape the Earth, like when it freezes into ice or becomes part of big waves that crash on the shore.

So next time you’re at the beach, remember: you're standing in a giant bowl of saltwater!