The Vital Role of Water in Life

Water's densest at 4°C. That single fact is why life survived on Earth.

When lakes freeze, ice floats instead of sinking, protecting everything below.

Without that, every winter would kill all aquatic life. But water gets stranger.

In Bahamian blue holes, freshwater and saltwater refuse to mix, trapping ancient

fossils and prehistoric creatures in a liquid time capsule. Scientists believe most of Earth's

water came from space, delivered by meteorites billions of years ago.

Rain starts with collisions too small to see. Clouds weighing thousands of tons

drift like feathers. And in Canadian lakes, water does something wild.