Lake

A lake is a body of water surrounded by land. The majority of lakes are fresh water, and most lie in the northern hemisphere at higher latitudes. Large lakes are sometimes referred to as "inland seas" and small seas are sometimes referred to as lakes. The term lake is also used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre, which is dry most of the time but becomes filled under seasonal conditions of heavy rainfall. Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for hydro-electric power supply, recreation (swimming, wind surfing,...), water supply, etc. Finland is known as ''The Land of the Thousands Lakes'' and Minnesota is known as ''The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes''. The Great Lakes of North America originated in the ice age. Over 60% of the world's lakes are in Canada; this is because of the deranged drainage system that dominates the country. ==Origin of natural lakes== Most lakes are young, as the natural results of erosion will tend to wear away one of the basin sides containing the lake. There are a number of natural processes that can form lakes. A recent tectonic uplift of a mountain range can create bowl-shaped depressions that accumulate water and form lakes. The advance and retreat of glaciers can scrape depressions in the surface where lakes accumulate. Such lakes are common in Scandinavia, Siberia and Canada. Lakes can also form by means of landslides or by glacial blockages. An example of the later occurred during the last ice age in the state of Washington, when a huge lake formed behind a glacial flow. When the ice retreated, the result was an immense flood that created the Dry Falls monument at Sun Lakes, Washington. Saline lakes can form where there is no natural outlet or the water evaporates rapidly, and the drainage surface of the water table has a higher than normal salt content. Examples of salt lakes include the Great Salt Lake, the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea. Small, crescent-shaped lakes called oxbow lakes can form in river valleys as the result of meandering. The slow-moving river forms a sinuous shape as the outer side of bends is torn away more rapidly than the inner side. Eventually a horseshoe bend is formed and the river cuts through the narrow neck. This gap now forms the main passage for the river and the ends of the bend become silted up. Lake Vostok is an under-ice lake in Antarctica, possibly the largest in the world. The pressure from ice and the internal chemical composition means that if the lake were drilled into, it may result in a fissure and spraying in the same manner as a shaken can of soda. Some lakes, like Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika are volcanic in origin, and lie on geological fault lines. The Crater Lake in Oregon is a lake located within the caldera of an extinct volcano.. ==Characteristics== The change in level of a lake is controlled by the difference between the sources of inflow and outflow, compared to the total volume of the lake. The significant input sources are precipitation onto the lake; runoff carried by streams and channels from the lake's catchment area; groundwater channels and aquifers, and man-made sources from outside the catchment area. Output sources are evaporation from the lake; surface and groundwater flows, and any extraction of lake water by humans. As climate conditions and human water requirements vary, these will create fluctuations in the lake level. Lakes can be categorized on the basis of their richness of nutrients, which typically effects plant growth. Nutrient poor lakes are said to be ''oligotrophic'', and are generally clear, having a low concentration of plant life. ''Mesotropic'' lakes have good clarity and an average level of nutrients. ''Eutrophic'' lakes are enriched with nutrients, resulting in good plant growth and possible algae blooms. A ''hypertrophic'' lake is a water body that has been highly enriched with nutrients. These lakes typically have poor clarity and are subject to algal blooms. Lakes typically reach this condition due to human activities, such as heavy use of fertilizers in the lake catchment area. Such lakes are of little use, and have a poor ecosystem. ===Types of lakes=== A periglacial lake is one in which part of its margin is formed by an ice sheet, ice cap or glacier, the ice having obstructed the natural drainage of the land. ===Artificial lakes=== A reservoir (French language: ''r�servoir'') is an artificial lake created by flooding land behind a dam. Some of the world's largest lakes are reservoirs. Artificial lakes can also be made deliberately by digging one or by flooding an open-pit Mining. To build dams, surveyors have to find river valleys which are deep and narrow; the valley sides can then act as natural walls. The best place for building a dam has to be determined. If necessary, humans have to be re-housed and/or historic sites have to be moved, e.g. the temples of Abu Simbel before the construction of the Aswan Dam, creating Lake Nasser. Lake Volta in western Africa covers around 8,500 km². Lake Mead is North America's largest artificial lake, which was formed by the Hoover Dam, constructed from 1931 to 1935 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Lokka is Northern Europe's largest artificial lake, 417 km² in size. See also: List of reservoirs and dams == Abiotic and biotic limnology == Limnology divides lakes in three zones: littoral zone, which is a sloped area that is close to land; open-water zone, where sunlight is abundant; and deep-water zone, where little sunlight can reach. The depth which light can reach in lakes depends on the density and motion of Particle_%28ecology%29s. These particles can be sedimentary or biological in origin and are responsible for the color of the water. Decaying plant matter for instance is responsible for a yellow or brown color, while algae result in greenish water. In very shallow water bodies, iron oxides make water reddish brown. Biological particles are algae and detritus. A sediment particle is in Suspension (chemistry) if its weight is less than the random turbidity forces acting upon it. The turbidity is a decisive factor in the transparency of the water. Bottom-dwelling detritivorous fish are responsible for turbid waters, because they stir the mud in search for food. Piscivorous fish eat plant-eating (planktonivorous) fish, thus increasing the number of algae (see aquatic trophic cascade). The light depth or transparency is measured by using a Secchi disk. This is a 20 cm disk with alternating white and black quadrants. The depth at which the disk is no longer visible, is the Secchi depth, and is a measure for transparency. It is commonly used to test eutrophication. A lake moderates the surrounding region's temperature and climate because water has a very high specific heat capacity (4186). In the daytime, the lake can cool the land beside it with local winds, resulting in a sea breeze; in the night, it can warm it, forming a land breeze. == How lakes disappear == A lake may be deposited with sediment, and gradually, the lake becomes a wetland, such as a swamp or marsh. An important difference exists between lowland and highland lakes: lowland lakes are more placid, are less rocky/more sedimentary, have a less sloping bottom, and generally contain more plant life. Large water plants (typically reed (plant)s) accelerate this closing process significantly because they trap sediment. Turbid lakes, and lakes with much plant-eating fish, tend to disappear slower. A "disappearing" lake (barely noticeable on a human timescale) typically has a water's edge with extensive plant mats. They become a new habitat for other plants (like Sphagnum, when conditions are right) and animals, many of which are very rare. Gradually, the lake closes, and young peat may form, forming a fen. In lowland river valleys (allowing the river to meander), the presence of peat is explained by the closing of historical oxbow lakes. In the very last stages of succession, more trees would grow in, eventually turning the wetland into a forest. Some lakes can also disappear seasonally; they are called Intermittent lakes and are typical of Karst. A prime example of this is Lake Cerknica in Slovenia. == Extraterrestrial lakes == At present the surface of the planet Mars (planet) is too cold to permit pooling of liquid water on the surface. However geologic evidence appears to confirm that ancient lakes once formed on the surface. It is also possible that volcanic activity on Mars will occasionally melt the subsurface ice, forming large lakes. Under current conditions this water will quickly evaporate or freeze unless insulated in some manner, such as by a coating of volcanic ash. Jupiter (planet)'s small moon Io is volcanically active due to tidal stresses, and as a result sulfur deposits have accumulated on the surface. Some photographs taken during the Galileo spacecraft appear to show lakes of liquid sulfur on the surface. There are dark basaltic plains on the Moon, similar to lunar mare but smaller, that are called ''lacus'' (singular ''lacus'', Latin for "lake"). They were once thought by early astronomers to be literal lakes. ==Notable lakes== * The largest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea. With a surface area of 394,299 sq. km., it has a surface area greater than the next six largest lakes combined. * The largest freshwater lake, and second largest lake altogether is Lake Superior with a surface area of 82,414 sq. km. * The deepest lake is Lake Baikal in Siberia, with a bottom at 1,741 m (5,712 ft.). * The highest navigable lake is lake Titicaca, at 3821 m above sea level. It is also the second largest lake in South America. * The world's lowest lake is the Dead Sea, at 396 m (1,302 ft.) below sea level. It is also the lake with the highest salt concentration. * The largest freshwater-lake island is Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron, with a surface area of 2,766 square km. * The largest lake located on an island is Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island. * Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra is located in what is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. * The largest freshwater lake in Europe is Lake Balaton, followed by Lake Geneva. * Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is a part of the Great Lakes of Africa. * Lake Superior is the largest lake in North America. It is a part of the Great Lakes. * Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America. Lake Titicaca is the largest freshwater lake. == See also == *List of lakes *Loch *Lough *Pond *Limnology *Lagoon *Geography *Tarn (lake) == External links == *[http://www.highestlake.com/ Lists of the highest lakes in the US and the world] *[http://www.mlswa.org/lkclassif1.htm Lake Classification Systems] Forms of water Landforms Lakes simple:Lake

Lake

-- Is it just me, or does the term 'deranged' for the drainage system in Canada seem a little unscientific and confusing? This should be changed to the proper term for whatever the author of that part is referring to. "Unusual" would be a much better term. Pizza Puzzle asks me (in his edit summary) to cite a source for there being a size requirement for a lake to be considered a sea. Fine. I happily do so. My copy of Chambers Dictionary includes under sea, "great (esp. salt) lake." Note the word great. Small lakes are never called seas. Precisely where the cut-off point is irrelevant - my only edit has been to say that the lake must be "of sufficient size" if it's to be called a sea. I have not stated what that size is. That's open for interpretation. User:Evercat 19:41 11 Jul 2003 (UTC) You are wrong and so is your dictionary. A lake can be a sea. The sufficient size is simply that it must be of, at least, lake size. User:Pizza Puzzle PP, you asked for a source, and you got one. It is not logical to simply say "your source is wrong"; the burden of proof in this argument has been switched back to you. Produce a contrary source that trumps the dictionary, if you like (or can); meantime please refrain from blanket reverts without supporting evidence. - User:Hephaestos 20:06 11 Jul 2003 (UTC) Ive stated one. sea is very clear. User:Pizza Puzzle My copy of Wetzel's ''Limnology'' characterizes the Caspian Sea as a lake, but is a little ambivalent about the Black Sea. The handful of lakes with "Sea" in the name are basically grandfathered in, with perhaps the lone exception of Salton Sea - "Dead Lake" would be a very confusing change! If you flooded the entire state of Nevada today, it's highly unlikely the Board on Geographical Names would be willing to call it a "sea" and not a "lake". User:Stan Shebs 20:53 11 Jul 2003 (UTC) The criteria for being a sea have little to do with size. The first question is, "Does its surface lie at the general sea level or below?" Thus The Great Lakes and the Great Salt Lake of North America are lakes. The Dead Sea is a sea. There is however, inconsistency in naming seas. The question of an outflow other than evaporation is relevant, as in the case of the Aral Sea but the Great Salt Lake and (I think) Lake Balkhash have no exit flow on the surface. As far as the Black Sea goes, it is no different from the Sea of Japan or the Baltic Sea. It is at sea level and connected to the generality of the seas of the world. It does have one characteristic of an ocean, in that it lies between two geological continental plates. But so does the Sea of Japan. Such very small "oceans" can not have been recognised as such until the concept of plate tectonics was recognised. By that time they had come to be called seas and there is little point in trying to change that. So here size is relevant. User:RJP 09:21, 17 May 2005 (UTC) I put the periglacial lake up with the definition because 'lake' is here defined in terms of water surrounded by land and a periglacial lake, while still being a lake, is not surrounded by land. Therefore, without accounting for the periglacial lake's exceptional nature, we have not defined 'lake'. The asphalt Trinidal Lake is a similar problem since it is not made of water but if we want to be thorough, it should be accounted for - perhaps by discounting it. By the way, 'deranged' seems to me a much better word than 'unusual' in the case of the drainage of the Canadian Shield. It says exactly the appropriate thing. The region's exposure to the ice sheet has ''disturbed or destroyed the arrangement of'' its drainage. See ''Oxford English Dictionary''. (User:RJP 19:06, 23 May 2005 (UTC)) Hi there! this page states the biggest 'fresh water' lake in Europe is Balaton in Hungary (596sq.km). Isn't the water fresh enough in Ladoga Lake in Russia (17.700sqkm)?

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