Ancient Lake

Ancient Lake

An ancient lake is a lake that carried water without interruption for more than one million years. The vast majority of lakes, including very large ones such as the Great Lakes, are of much more recent origin. The short life of most of lakes is due to continued sedimentation by their tributaries, which typically leads to complete siltation after several thousand years. In contrast, the longevity of ancient lakes can mostly be attributed to geological factors, such as plate tectonics, which can counter siltation.

Read more about Ancient Lake:  Importance of Ancient Lakes' Ecospheres, Selected Ancient Lakes

Famous quotes containing the words ancient and/or lake:

    To some extent, mythology is only the most ancient history and biography. So far from being false or fabulous in the common sense, it contains only enduring and essential truth, the I and you, the here and there, the now and then, being omitted. Either time or rare wisdom writes it.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    Wordsworth went to the Lakes, but he was never a lake poet. He found in stones the sermons he had already hidden there.
    Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)