Why are oceans salty and lakes/rivers are not?

Answer 1

The first guy to post was correct , water absorbs alot of things such as minerals. when the water evaporates the minerals stay behind. now imagine the world doign this repeated cycle over and over again. Rain which goes into our streams and rivers, through the ground, absorbing minerals and taking them with the water. most rivers drain into the ocean or connect to other rivers that do. bringing tons of minerals each day into the big oceans. many minerals sink to the bottom of the ocean however some do not and stay within the h20 molecules themselfs. the hi content of minerals is why the water is salty. gl to you.

Answer 2

OK first of all whoever said that no fresh water lakes were formed by glaciers are completly wrong..... Many of thm were.... the oceans are salty because rivers flowing into oceans bring minerals with them... this is why for example at the end of the missisippi there is huge deposties of silt... also oceans are much larger and border more land... the land that has salt in it goes into the ocean.... Once in the ocean the salt cannot escape because it cannot be evaporated... Did you know if all the salf was taken out of the ocean the earths surface would be covered with over 6 feet of salt!

Answer 3

A small amount of salt is dissolved in the water from rocks on land. once the water gets to the ocean it has no where to go. The water can evaporate but when it does it leaves the salt behind slowly increasing the salinity of the ocean water. Rain falling on the ocean and new water flowing in from rivers keeps the salinity from increasing past the current equilibrium point.

Answer 4

oceans are salty because of all the salt that rivers wash into them. the salt dissolves in when water flows over mineral rich rocks. the water at the point of origin of rivers is from rain or snow. so it is pure. and the amount of salt it dissolves is relatively less. so it is less salty.
all the water washes into the seafloor. but even when the waterevaporates the salt is left behind. so there is no chance for it to get salt free.
also the rocks on the seafloor may be salty

Answer 5

The oceans were creatd by huge glaciers that somehw rubbed into salt deposits. Lakes and rivers are filled with rainwater which evaporated from the oceans. Salt doesn't evaporate, so it is freshwater.

Answer 6

the reason that the oceans are salty is simply because people pee in them (ewww) but ya. people don't swim in lakes and rivers as much as they do in oceans. yup yup. that's my theory =] hahaha

Answer 7

EVAPORATION.

Answer 8

i dunno