<P> Water is distributed across earth . Most water in the Earth 's atmosphere and crust comes from the world ocean 's saline seawater , while freshwater accounts for only 2.5 % of the total . Because the oceans that cover roughly 78 % of the area of the Earth reflect blue light , the Earth appears blue from space , and is often referred to as the blue planet and the Pale Blue Dot . An estimated 1.5 to 11 times the amount of water in the oceans may be found hundreds of miles deep within the Earth 's interior , although not in liquid form . </P>
what percentage of the earth 's surface is water
78 %