 | Portal maintenance status:(October 2020)
|
_Goai%25C3%25AFngarypster_Puollen_(d.j.b.)_20.jpg)
A view of Goëngarijpsterpoelen, one of theFrisian Lakes
A view ofLake Teletskoye, the largest lake in the Altai Mountains and the Altai Republic, Russia
A view of the six lowest (and largest) lakes of theSeven Rila Lakes
Thunder Lake in Northern Alberta
A view ofWest Lake in Hangzhou, China
Alake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixedbody of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in abasin or interconnected basins surrounded bydry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from theocean, although they may be connected with the ocean byrivers. Lakes, like other bodies ofwater, are part of thewater cycle, the processes by which water moves around the Earth. Most lakes arefresh water and account for almost all the world's surface freshwater, but some aresalt lakes withsalinities even higher than that ofseawater. Lakes vary significantly in surface area and volume of water.
Lakes are typically larger and deeper thanponds, which are also water-filled basins on land, although there are no official definitions or scientific criteria distinguishing the two. Lakes are also distinct fromlagoons, which are generally shallowtidal pools dammed bysandbars or other material atcoastal regions of oceans or large lakes. Most lakes are fed bysprings, and both fed and drained bycreeks andrivers, but some lakes areendorheic without any outflow, whilevolcanic lakes are filled directly byprecipitationrunoffs and do not have any inflow streams.
Natural lakes are generally found inmountainous areas (i.e.alpine lakes),dormantvolcanic craters,rift zones and areas with ongoingglaciation. Other lakes are found indepressed landforms or along the courses of mature rivers, where a river channel has widened over a basin formed by erodedfloodplains andwetlands. Some lakes are found in cavernsunderground. Some parts of the world have many lakes formed by the chaotic drainage patterns left over from thelast ice age. All lakes are temporary overlong periods of time, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them. (Full article...)
Alake-burst (Old Irish:tomaidm,Irish:tomhaidhm) is a phenomenon referred to inIrish mythology, in which a previously non-existent lake comes into being, often when a grave is being dug. Part of the lake-burst stories may originate in sudden hydrographic changes around limestone-based inland plains orturloughs. Other so-called lake-bursts refer to marine estuaries, bays and inlets, such asGalway Bay,Strangford Lough,Dundrum Bay,Belfast Lough,Waterford Harbour and the mouth of theRiver Erne. Some of these coastal districts were renowned for the drowned prehistoric forests, which gave rise to several flood-myths.
Lake-bursts play a significant role in Irish water symbolism. The people of Ireland and Celtic Britain generally believed that vast bodies of water — seas or inland lakes — harbored beings from the underworld (Tír fó Thuinn), whether as humans or monstrous creatures, in their depths. Bodies of water not only served as physical boundaries, but also as spiritual thresholds, separating life from death, this world from theotherworld.
Medievalbards had a special genre of lake-burst poems calledtomamond. More or less elaborate 11th- or 12th-century narratives have survived aroundGalway Bay,Lough Neagh andLough Ree, which seem to be related to similar (though less ancient) stories in Wales (Cantre'r Gwaelod,Llys Helig,Bala Lake,Llynclys), Cornwall (Lyonesse), Brittany (Ys) and Normandy (Forêt de Scissy). A late 16th-centuryFrisian legend, probably borrowed from Irish examples, refers to the origins of theZuiderzee. Other Irish texts refer to the eruption of theRiver Boyne and other rivers. The poems of the lake-burst ofLough Erne and the eruption of Brí (where the legendary characterMidir lived) have been lost. In Wales theflood myth is elaborated in the story ofDwyfan and Dwyfach, who saved people and animals from the great deluge caused by the monsterAvanc living inLlyn Llion (possiblyBala Lake). Its Irish counterpart as told in theLebor Gabála Érenn only links up with the Biblical story of Noah's flood. (Full article...)
| Lake zones |
|---|
| Lake stratification |
| Lake types |
| See also |
Do you have a question about lakes that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at theWikipedia reference desk.
_and_algal_communities_(right).jpg)
_2020.jpg)
| Natural lakes |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial | |||||
| Urban Tirana | |||||
Lakes on theAltiplano | |
|---|---|
| Present-day lakes andsalt pans | |
| Lake expansions ofLake Titicaca | |
| Ancient lakes | |
| Other paleolakes and lake expansions in the region | |
| Five Great Lakes |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Notablefreshwater lakes |
| |
| Notable salt lakes | ||
| National Parks | ||
| Protectedwetlands | ||
| Nature Reserves | ||
| Major urban lakes | ||
| Reservoirs | ||
| Eastern Georgia |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Georgia |
| ||||
Great Lakes of North America | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main lakes | |||||||||||||||||
| Secondary lakes | |||||||||||||||||
| Bays and channels |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Waterways | |||||||||||||||||
| Islands | |||||||||||||||||
| Historic geology |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Organizations |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Related topics | |||||||||||||||||
| Low-altitude lakes | |
|---|---|
| Mid-altitude lakes | |
| High-altitude lakes | |
| Reservoirs | |
| Related topics | |
|  | |
|
|  | |
"The Largest Lake in the Philippines" | |||||||
| Location |  | ||||||
| Basin country | |||||||
| Islands | |||||||
| Primary outflow | |||||||
| Primary inflows |
| ||||||
| Settlements |
| ||||||
| Lakes/ponds | |
|---|---|
| Reservoirs | |
Lakes in Mongolia | |
|---|---|
| Lakes | |
Lakes ofNew Mexico | |
|---|---|
Lakes and other natural bodies of water inNew South Wales, Australia | |
|---|---|
| Coastal lagoons and lakes | |
| Freshwater | |
| Glacial | |
| Saline | |
Pleistoceneproglacial lakes and related seas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Antarctica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Europe |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North America |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South America | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lakes of Switzerland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Major lakes |
|  |
| Lists | ||
| Coastal lagoons and lakes | |
|---|---|
| Freshwater | |
| Glacial | |
| Salt | |
| Man-madereservoirs | |
|  | |||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| Natural lakes |
|
|---|---|
| Artificial lakes | |
| States |
|
|---|---|
| Federal district | |
| Territories | |
| Islands |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Cities | ||
| Neighboring lakes and dams | ||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
The followingWikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
.svg)
