A lake is a body of water that is surrounded by land. They usually are part of a river or a stream that drains into them.
All lakes have a place where they can catch drainage and it is called the lower lying lake. In this area, it is the place where the rivers and melting ice go to.
In the lakes, water will flow in and out of the streams and rivers from the lake and lakes do not lose water unless the water evaporates.
A lake is not a lagoon because a lagoon is connected to an ocean and a lake is not.
Most lakes around the world are freshwater but some of them do have saltwater.
When there is water that goes underground, the lake is called an endorheic lake. This is a place where water can get out of the lake, but it happens very slowly.
Many lakes will just naturally disappear. Some lakes will last thousands of years and then disappear. This happens because as the water flows in and out of the lake, it takes debris and sediment with it. When the sediment keeps moving in and the water evaporates, it continues to fill the lake with sediment and debris until the lake disappears completely.
Lakes happen because of water that is found on the surface of the Earth. The surface water actually even makes up around 90% of all lakes. When water is on the Earth, it has to find somewhere to go. As the water flows into an area, the constant flow will cause the land beneath to form a hole. The hole gets bigger as more and more water goes into the lakes.
Another way that lakes can form is by glaciers. When large glaciers are in one spot, they form a hollow area that is bowl shaped. This area will then fill up when the glacier moves.
Plate tectonics can also cause lakes to form. When plates hit into each other or they overlap each other, they can shape the crust of the Earth into the shape of a lake.
Volcanic activity or craters can also cause lakes to form. A lake that is small and shaped like a crescent is called an Oxbow lake.
Some lakes are manmade lakes because people need to have water sources when they have hydro-electric power. This water source is good for farmers and factories.
A subglacial lake is formed when ice covers a lake and never melts. One of these is Lake Vostok and this lake is found in Antarctica.
A Salt Lake is a lake that has a lot of salt in it. Some of these include:
The Caspian Sea is the largest lake and it is found in different areas such as:
More than 100 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea.
Located in North America and in Canada are the Great Lakes. There are five lakes and they are easy to remember with the word HOMES. This includes:
There is more than 20% of the surface of the world that is made up of the Great Lakes.
In the Lake Ontario is the famous Niagara Falls. The falls are here because the area of Lake Ontario is lower than the other Great Lakes. The water from the falls drops more than 500 feet down and flows into Lake Erie.
One of the largest lakes are found in Africa. The lake was named after Queen Victoria and it shares the lake with three different countries including:
The largest lake that is in South America is called Lake Titicaca. This lake is in the Andes Mountains.
This lake is the longest lake in the whole world and is over 400 miles long. This lake is located in Africa, but it also shares its coast with four other countries including:
There are lakes that are found all around the world. Here is a list of the largest lakes by continent:
When a scientist studies different lakes and other inlands of water, it is called the study of limnology or a limnologist.
A lake is considered a freshwater biome because it is an area that has water and the temperature can change over time. Lakes will get cooler the lower down you go and will be warmer towards the tops.
The lake is divided into four different zones: Littoral zone, limnetic zone, euphotic zone and benthic zone.
There are some different types of animals that are found in the lakes such as:
There are also a variety of plants that live in our close to the coast of the lake. Some of these include: