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Home > Water > Water Properties

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Water Properties

LakeA colourless, odourless and tasteless liquid compound made up of hydrogen and oxygen, water is an essential building block for all life on Earth.

Water can be liquid, solid or gas. Precipitation that seeps through the soil into the water table is called groundwater, while water that flows into lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans is known as surface water. Surface water that evaporates later condenses in the atmosphere and returns to Earth as rain, snow or hail.

Find out about water properties and the hydrological cycle here.

Selected Content

  • Freshwater: Aquatic Ecosystems

    This section provides an explanation of freshwater ecosystems in Canada.

  • Freshwater: Groundwater

    Find information on all aspects of groundwater here.

  • Freshwater: Lakes

    This section contains general information on lakes including the world's largest lake, the largest lake in Canada and the Great Lakes.

  • Freshwater: Permafrost

    Here you will find general information about permafrost, a term used to describe permanently frozen ground.

  • Freshwater: Properties of Water

    This section deals with the unique physical and chemical properties of water: you can freeze it, melt it, evaporate it, heat it and combine it. It also explains the hydrologic cycle.

  • Freshwater: Rivers

    Here you can find a variety of information on lakes, rivers and watersheds.

  • Freshwater: Sediment

    This section contains information on sediment and its effects on Canada's water resources.

  • Freshwater: Snow and Ice

    This section presents information about water in the form of snow and ice.

Date Modified: 2007-03-20

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