Total water volume1.4 quintillion m³
42 quadrillionShipping container volumes
41.7 quadrillion20-foot shipping containers
1.386 billion km³; USGS estimate of all water on Earth
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
All the Water on Earth
1.386 billion cubic kilometers of H₂O, and only 2.5% is fresh/Collective & Conceptual
Earth contains roughly 1.386 billion cubic kilometers of water in all its forms: oceans, ice caps, groundwater, rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere. Despite being called the Blue Planet, 97.5% of that water is salty ocean water. Of the remaining 2.5% fresh water, most is locked in ice sheets and glaciers. Less than 1% of all Earth's water is readily accessible as liquid fresh water in lakes, rivers, and shallow aquifers. If all the water were gathered into a sphere, it would be about 1,385 km in diameter.
Measurements
Total water mass1.4 sextillion kg
2.6 sextillionOlympic gold medals
46.2 quintillionLabrador retrievers
~1.386 × 10²¹ kg; about 0.023% of Earth's total mass
Ocean volume1.3 quintillion m³
1.8 sextillionBottles of wine
233 trillionGoodyear blimps
~96.5% of all water; average depth ~3,688 m
Fresh water volume34.7 quadrillion m³
5.3 sextillionHuman eyeballs
230,259Lake Tahoes
26.7 billionYankee Stadiums
~2.5% of total; most locked in glaciers and ice caps
Water sphere diameter1.4 million m
9.9 millionSunglasses widths
20.7 millionTennis ball diameters
~1,385 km if all Earth's water were collected into a sphere
Accessible fresh surface water93.9 trillion m³
265 quadrillionCans of Coke
939 trillionCarry-on bags
1.6 quadrillionBeer kegs
Lakes, rivers, and swamps; only ~0.007% of total water