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I Wonder Why The Sea is Salty

**So Why is the sea salty?** Seawater tastes salty because it has salt in it. The salt is the same as the stuff people sprinkle on food. Most of it comes from rocks on the land. Rain washed the salt into rivers which carry it to the sea. **Is the Red Sea really red?** Parts of the Red Sea look red. In summer, millions of tiny red algae grow in the water. Don't worry, you won't turn pink if you swim there 😆 **What is sand made of?** Look closely at a handful of sand, and you'll see that it's made of tiny chips of rock and seashell. The bits of rock come from cliffs that have been broken up by the rain and sea. The shells are washed in by the tide and crushed by the pounding waves. **Which fish has headlights?** It's so dark at the bottom of the ocean that some fish make their own light. The ***angler fish*** has a long fin dangling in front of its face. At the end of the fin is a blob that glows. Small fishes are drawn towards the glowing light, only to disappear into the angler fish's big, gaping mouth.

**Fun fact:** Many deep-sea fish are real ugly mugs. It's just as well it's so dark down there 😆

**What it's like at the bottom of the sea?** You might think that the bottom of the sea is smooth and flat, but it isn't - at least not everywhere. There are mountains and valleys, hills and plains, just as there on land. **What makes waves roll?** Waves are rippled of water blown across the surface of the ocean by the wind. On a calm day, they hardly move, but in stormy weather, they roll faster and faster, and grow higher and higher, until they form huge walls of water. Some waves are called white horses because **their curly white tips look like horses' manes.**

Enough with the scary creatures and let's proceed to these beautiful creatures in the sea. **Where do angels, clowns, and parrots live?** ***Angelfish, clownfish, and parrotfish*** are just some of the thousands of beautiful animals that live on coral reefs. Tropical fish like these often have dazzling colors and bold patterns.

**Which fish hunts with a hammer?** The ***hammerhead shark*** has a huge head shaped like a hammer. But this tool is for hunting, *not banging in nails*. The Shark's eyes and nostrils are at each end of the hammer. As the shark swims, it swings its head from side to side, searching for a meal.

**Which is the most shocking fish?** Some fish give off electric shocks to protect themselves or to stun animals they want to eat. The most shocking ocean fish is the **torpedo ray. If you could switch it on, it would light up a bulb!**

**Which fish look like stones?** ***Stonefish*** look just like lumps of rock - but they're far more dangerous. If attacked, a stonefish uses needle-sharp spines on its fins to stab its enemy and release a deadly poison.

**Are there jewels in the sea?** In warm tropical water, pearls may grow inside the shells of oysters and clams. The pearls are such rare finds that they are very valuable. People risk their lives diving down for them.

Oh, by the way. Are you familiar with the legend or the folklore about a giant who served as a bridge for the merchants to trade goods from an island to a city? The story started when these people carrying sacks of sugar from the island to the city. They have a giant friend and it served to be the bridge. While traveling on the legs of the giant, there were sacks of sugar that got loose and so some sugar fell on the legs of the giant and got wasted. When it's time to deliver the salt to the city, the giant felt like something's biting him. He tolerated it as much as he could but he couldn't bear it any longer so the people fell off the sea and that makes the sea became salty.

Well, that is the version of what our teacher told me when I was in 1st grade. Share with me your versions in the comment section 😁 ***Sources***: *Google images* *I Wonder Why The Sea is Salty by Anita Ganeri*

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