When standing at the shore and tasting the unmistakable saltiness of ocean water, many wonder: why is the ocean salty ? While it's tempting to think that it’s just nature’s quirk, the story behind salt in the sea is a deep, timeworn tale of erosion, elemental alchemy, and an unending cycle that spans billions of years. 🏔️ Mountain Roots to Ocean Depths: A Long Journey Begins The ocean’s salt doesn’t magically appear—it’s carried from the land. Over millions of years, rainwater , slightly acidic due to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, falls on rocks and begins a slow but relentless breakdown process. This weathering releases minerals and salts , particularly sodium and chloride ions , from the rocks. These minerals are swept away by rivers and streams, eventually flowing into the vast oceans . But here’s where it gets interesting. While rivers do contain dissolved salts , they aren’t nearly as salty as the sea. That’s because the ocean doesn’t have an outlet . When river wate...