The Lake

A lake is a large body of water (larger and deeper than a pond) within a body of land. As a lake is separated from the ocean. Lakes do not flow, like rivers, but many have rivers flowing into and out of them.

Lakes can be formed as a result of tectonic, volcanic, or even glacial activities, but intentional and accidental human activities also have created and destroyed many lakes. 

Looking at natural causes of lake formation, the fact that most of the world’s great lakes are in North America is by no coincidence. This has come to be because, in the distant past, the region was covered in glaciers and, as these glaciers move constantly, their removal of earth and deposition of melting ice water causes lakes to be formed. Lakes serve as important habitats and water resources.

Most lakes on the surface of the Earth are freshwater and most are in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 60% of the lakes of the world are in Canada. There are 187,888 lakes in Finland, and also Finland is known as The Land of the Thousand Lakes.

Where the water evaporates rapidly and the soil around the lake has a high salt level, as in very dry places, the water of the lake has a high concentration of salt and the lake is called a salt lake. Examples of salt lakes are the Great Salt Lake, the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and the Dead Sea. 

Many lakes are man-made reservoirs built to produce electricity, for recreation, or to use the water for irrigation or industry, or in houses.