Lake

Lakes arguably set themselves apart in many ways from most of the waterbodies in this set, though a distinction will have to be made first before other striking characteristics can be discussed: the visual difference between a lake and a reservoir. In many ways, they are essentially the same, with visual features that are almost entirely identical. The difference lies in one small fact: “a reservoir is a manmade lake that is created when a dam is built on a river,” which is to say that we should identify the difference between reservoirs and lakes through the presence or lack of presence of a dam [1].

With that aside, we turn to defining visual features of lake water. Primarily, these are: the water being relatively calm or still with little to no blurring of reflections of the surrounding vegetation, terrain, or sky, and the waterbody being either opaque or transparent while also being generally clear of most surface vegetation that is common in other waterbodies like wetlands. This opaqueness or transparency is seen in vertical “columns” of water in lakes, that are “divided into photic and aphotic zones,” where “light penetration” differs and photosynthesis either occurs or does not occur, respectively, which is affected by “water clarity impacted by suspended particles” that dim the water [2].

Additionally, there is oftentimes no visible direction for the water’s flow, except for potentially that which is caused by wind. This is not the case for waterbodies such as rivers and rapids, as well as moving floods, which also differ from lakes due to their coloration and potential infrastructural inundation. Lastly, the identifiable stillness of lake water is largely dependent on lakes being bodies “of water that are surrounded by land,” flowing in no particular direction and being largely set apart from other waterbodies [3].

References

[1] United States Geological Survey (USGS). Lakes and Reservoirs. Retrieved (2021, July 21), from https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/lakes-and-reservoirs?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects

[2] Nature Education. (2012). Ponds and Lakes: A Journey Through the Life Aquatic. Retrieved (2021, July 21), from https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/ponds-and-lakes-a-journey-through-the-25982495/

[3] National Geographic Society. (2011, September 15). Lake. Retrieved (2021, July 21), from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/lake/