Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
water
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
water rapids, Niagara Falls, Canada
The chemistry of water
polar bear on ice floe diagram of the hydrologic cycle of water Hoover Dam diagram of a water treatment system
water harvesting
water molecule
Which has a lower freezing point, salt water or fresh water?
water droplets
For Students
Lake Mead is seen in the distance behind a dead creosote bush in an area of dry, cracked earth that used to be underwater near where the Lake Mead Marina was once located on June 12, 2021 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.
Comprehension Quiz: Water Scarcity
water summary
Quizzes
water glass on white background. (drink; clear; clean water; liquid)
Water and its Varying Forms
Metal and enamel pan of boiling water on stove. (boiling point; cooking; steam; cooking gas; non-electric)
Aitch-Two-Oh?
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
27 True-or-False Questions from Britannica’s Most Difficult Science Quizzes
Related Questions
Read Next
Drinking water is poured into a glass.
Water Fluoridation: Just the Facts
Iceberg, Arctic (polar, environment, global warming)
Why Does Water Freeze from the Top Down?
Saguaro cacti dot the Sonoran Desert landscape at Saguaro National Park, Arizona. Formerly Saguaro National Monument cactus
Can You Drink Water from a Cactus?
Water droplets on flat surface.
Water Explained in 5 Questions
Waves, North Shore of Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, United States.
Why Is the Ocean Salty?
Discover
Young boys working in a thread spinning mill in Macon, Georgia, 1909. Boys are so small they have to climb onto the spinning frame to reach and fix broken threads and put back empty bobbins. Child labor. Industrial revolution
The Rise of the Machines: Pros and Cons of the Industrial Revolution
Attack on Pearl Harbor. December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor infographic. World War II. Hawaii. United States. Japan. SPOTLIGHT VERSION
Attack on Pearl Harbor Timeline
Ice Sledge Hockey, Hockey Canada Cup, USA (left) vs Canada, 2009. UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver, BC, competition site for Olympic ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey. Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver Olympics
10 Best Hockey Players of All Time
Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time
earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.
The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950
Horses. Equus caballus. Horse stable. A brown horse looks out from his stall through the window.
Horsing Around: 7 of the Weirdest Racehorse Names in History
African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.
Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

water: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/water
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Water arrived on Earth gradually, not in one big event • Feb. 4, 2025, 1:31 AM ET (Earth.com)
Viral Chinese tourist spot stokes farm nostalgia • Jan. 31, 2025, 5:16 AM ET (Taipei Times)
Water and cow's milk considered healthiest options for children under 18, experts say • Jan. 30, 2025, 9:31 AM ET (CBS)
Fact checking Trump's claims about the California wildfires • Jan. 24, 2025, 1:01 PM ET (CBS)

Facts

Also Known As H2O

Photos and Videos

water rapids, Niagara Falls, Canada
polar bear on ice floe
diagram of the hydrologic cycle of water
Hoover Dam
diagram of a water treatment system
water molecule
water droplets
hydration of a sodium ion
Earth
boiling
The chemistry of water
water harvesting
Which has a lower freezing point, salt water or fresh water?
splitting water
Experiment: Dissolving M&M's candy coating with different liquids
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Jacques Dubochet
Swiss biophysicist
Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier
French chemist
Cavendish, Henry
Henry Cavendish
British physicist
Thales of Miletus
Greek philosopher
Charles-François Sturm, pencil sketch by Daniel Colladon, 1822; in the Academy of Sciences, Paris.
Charles-François Sturm
French-Swiss mathematician
Jean André Deluc
Swiss-British geologist and meteorologist
Johann Wilhelm Ritter
German physicist
Nicholson, William
William Nicholson
English chemist and inventor
Henri-Émile Bazin
French engineer
Francis Hauksbee, the Elder
English scientist

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
27 True-or-False Questions from Britannica’s Most Difficult Science Quizzes
Lake Mead is seen in the distance behind a dead creosote bush in an area of dry, cracked earth that used to be underwater near where the Lake Mead Marina was once located on June 12, 2021 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.
Comprehension Quiz: Water Scarcity
water glass on white background. (drink; clear; clean water; liquid)
Water and its Varying Forms
Metal and enamel pan of boiling water on stove. (boiling point; cooking; steam; cooking gas; non-electric)
Aitch-Two-Oh?
List
Water droplets on flat surface.
Water Explained in 5 Questions
Demystified
Iceberg, Arctic (polar, environment, global warming)
Why Does Water Freeze from the Top Down?
Saguaro cacti dot the Sonoran Desert landscape at Saguaro National Park, Arizona. Formerly Saguaro National Monument cactus
Can You Drink Water from a Cactus?
Waves, North Shore of Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, United States.
Why Is the Ocean Salty?