Why Are the Oceans Salty?

Have you ever wondered why Ocean Water is salty? 

www.usgs.gov shares that the oceans cover about 70 percent of the Earth's surface, and that about 97 percent of all water on and in the Earth is saline—there's a lot of salty water on our planet.  Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” would say:  

Water, water, everywhere / Nor any drop to drink

NOAA adds, if the salt in the ocean could be removed and spread evenly over the Earth's land surface it would form a layer more than 500 feet (166 meters) thick, about the height of a 40-story office building.  That’s crazy!

Ok – but how does the water become salty.  Again from www.usgs.gov, The answer is really very simple. Salt in the ocean comes from rocks on land.  Salt from rocks, from 2 primary sources: rivers and surface runoff and hydrothermal vents on the crest of oceanic ridges. 

Ok, but why are lakes, except for the Great Salt Lake or the newly emerging Badwater Basin in Death Valley, not salty since they receive rainwater and surface runoff?  Replenishment,  and the right replenishment!  Wonderopolis.org adds, “Most lakes and rivers are freshwater, which means they are not salty. But that doesn’t mean they contain no salt. They have some salt, but less than the ocean. Lakes and rivers are replenished by rain, so they do not get too salty. Oceans, though, get their salt constantly replenished emptying into them.” (Bolding is mine)

Maybe that is why I am craving my upcoming trip to the Colorado Plateau.  Just like freshwater lakes need replenishing rain to avoid becoming salty, my soul is craving replenishment!

My question for you – is YOUR soul in need of replenishment?  How do you keep from becoming too SALTY?