Water on our planet comes from a variety of sources, including precipitation, surface water bodies like lakes and rivers, and groundwater aquifers. The total volume of the world's water supply is estimated to be approximately 332.5 million cubic miles, or 1,386,000,000,000,000,000 gallons.
Of this water, the vast majority - approximately 97.5% - is found in the oceans as saltwater. The remaining 2.5% is freshwater, but the majority of that is locked up in glaciers, ice caps, and underground aquifers. In fact, only a tiny fraction of the world's freshwater - less than 1% - is readily available for human use.
One important source of freshwater is snowpack, which accumulates in mountainous regions during the winter months and slowly melts over the course of the spring and summer, releasing water downstream into rivers and streams. The amount of snowpack and the timing of its melt can have a significant impact on downstream water availability, particularly in regions that rely heavily on snowmelt for their water supply. The average amount of snowpack varies widely depending on the region, but can range from a few inches to several feet or more.
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