43 The Big Splash

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The Big SPLASH! by SANDY DAMASHEK With the Editors of TIME FOR KIDS

Chapter 1 The Water Planet Some people call Earth "the water planet." Can you guess why? Most of Earth is covered with water— not land. The biggest bodies of water are oceans. Five oceans wrap around Earth. They are the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. They hold most of the water on Earth. But this water is salty. You cannot drink it.

The oceans have many animals. Some animals are as big as whales. Some are very small. Giant mountains and deep valleys cover the ocean floor. Let's go exploring!

Chapter 2 Oceans from Top to Bottom Some scientists study the ocean. They study its parts, or layers. The top of an ocean is different from the bottom. The bottom is called the ocean floor. Scientists divide the ocean into layers. These layers are called zones. Let's start by exploring the top zone. Then, we'll go all the way down to the deepest zone.

Chapter 3 The Sunlit Zone At the top of the ocean is the Sunlit Zone. Sunlight shines down from above. Most of the animals in the ocean live in this zone. Fish swim. Lobsters crawl. Jellyfish float. Coral Cities Coral reefs are like stony walls on the ocean floor. They are made of the hard skeletons of tiny animals. Coral reefs grow only in the warm parts of some oceans. Many animals live around coral reefs.