A lake is a body of relatively still water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land apart from a river, stream, or other form of moving water that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. However most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.
Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.
Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydro-electric power generation or domestic water supply, or for aesthetic or recreational purposes.
Read more about Lake: Etymology, Meaning, and Usage of "lake", Distribution of Lakes, Origin of Natural Lakes, Types of Lakes, Characteristics, Limnology, How Lakes Disappear, Extraterrestrial Lakes, Notable Lakes, See Also
Other articles related to "lake, lakes":
... A wooden palisade protected an area outside the fort between the southern wall and the lake shore. 1756 that the fort was too far to the west of the lake, the French constructed an additional redoubt to the east to enable cannon to cover the lake's narrows ... Center) soldiers' barracks at right Front of the fort View of the lake from the front Back view of the fort ...
... Utah Lake is a freshwater lake in the U.S ... The lake's only river outlet, the Jordan River, is a tributary of the Great Salt Lake ... accounts for 42% of the outflow of the lake, which leaves the lake slightly saline ...
... Today, about 226 species of birds use the lake either as their permanent home or as a stop over on their migration ... The Utah Lake Wetland Preserve has been established at the south end of Utah Lake ... Birds seen at Utah Lake include sandhill crane, double-crested cormorant, great horned owl, turkey vulture, golden eagle, cinnamon teal duck, and ...
... Important lakes, apart from Lake Constance are Lüner Lake, Silvretta Lake, Vermunt Lake, Spuller Lake, the Kops Basin and Formarin Lake the first ... for the power plant was built, Lüner Lake was the largest mountain lake in the Alps ... is used to pump water back into some of the lakes ...
... The Utah Lake watershed drains 3,846 square miles (9,960 km2) over mostly mountainous terrain ... for nearly 60% of inflow by streams or rivers into Utah Lake ... hot springs and smaller creeks flowing into the lake ...
Famous quotes containing the word lake:
“The best quality tea must have creases like the leathern boot of Tartar horsemen, curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock, unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr, and be wet and soft like a fine earth newly swept by rain.”
—Lu Yu (d. 804)
“Will lovely, lively, virginal today
Shatter for us with a wing’s drunken blow
This hard, forgotten lake haunted in snow
By the sheer ice of flocks not flown away!”
—Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898)