Lake

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A lake (from Latin lacus) is a terrain feature (or physical feature), a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin (another type of landform or terrain feature; that is, it is not global) and moves slowly if it moves at all. On Earth, a body of water is considered a lake when it is inland, not part of the ocean, is larger and deeper than a pond, and is fed by a river. The only world other than Earth known to harbor lakes is Titan, Saturn's largest moon, which has lakes of ethane, most likely mixed with methane. It is not known if Titan's lakes are fed by rivers, though Titan's surface is carved by numerous river beds.

Natural lakes on Earth are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing or recent 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.

For more information about Lake, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with lake

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For fish, bigger doesn’t always mean healthier

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Female smallmouth bass tend to prefer bigger male mates, but bigger doesn’t necessarily mean healthier. That’s the finding of a new study in the latest issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology that i ...


Warmer means windier on world's biggest lake

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 15, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Rising water temperatures are kicking up more powerful winds on Lake Superior, with consequences for currents, biological cycles, pollution and more on the world's largest lake and its smaller brethren.


Discoveries in the Deep

Discoveries in the Deep

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have been using Pavilion Lake as a testing ground for the future human exploration of other worlds.


Alberta's hidden valleys offer both resources and danger

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Alberta is crisscrossed with hidden glacial valleys that hold both resource treasures and potential danger. University of Alberta researcher Doug Schmitt discovered a 300 metre deep, valley hidden beneath the surface of the ...


Antarctic lake

Antarctic lake home to diverse community of viruses

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (16) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A study of the genetic structure of viruses in an Antarctic lake has revealed an astonishing genetic richness in the large number of viral families discovered.


Cornell releases predator beetle to battle hemlock pest

Cornell releases predator beetle to battle hemlock pest

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell researchers released a well-studied beetle predator to test its ability to ward off a hemlock-killing aphid-like insect.


The GOES-12 satellite sees Large Hurricane Ida nearing landfall

The GOES-12 satellite sees Large Hurricane Ida nearing landfall

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Residents of the U.S. Gulf coast thought they were getting a break this hurricane season until Ida showed up. Today, November 9, Ida is a hurricane and is headed for a landfall in the western Florida Panhandle ...


15,000 reasons to worry about invasive species

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

A day at the beach in Wisconsin's North Woods didn't used to go like this. Candy Dailey spent a Fourth of July holiday splashing with grandkids on the sandy shore of Lake Metonga when she felt a nasty sting on her foot.


Airborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes

Airborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (4) | comments 3

The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilizers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognized and even extends to remote alpine lakes, ...


Latvian experts say meteorite crater was hoax (Update)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(AP) -- Scientists investigating a large crater initially believed to have been caused by a meteorite said a closer analysis Monday revealed it was a hoax.


Arctic lake sediments show warming, unique ecological changes in recent decades

Arctic lake sediments show warming, unique ecological changes in recent decades

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (9) | comments 2

An analysis of sediment cores indicates that biological and chemical changes occurring at a remote Arctic lake are unprecedented over the past 200,000 years and likely are the result of human-caused climate ...


Some Canadian rivers at risk of drying up

Some Canadian rivers at risk of drying up

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (8) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Some Canadian rivers are at risk of drying up as impacts of climate change intersect with growing water demand from the country's cities, industries and agriculture, a new WWF report has found.


Toxic legacy seeps from melting Alpine glaciers: study

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 14, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (12) | comments 0

Swiss researchers have found that Alpine glaciers melting under the impact of climate change are releasing highly toxic pollutants that had been absorbed by the ice for decades.


Jamie Lloyd on the lookout for exoplanets

Researcher hunts for new planets, seeking clues on solar system's origin

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Cornell assistant professor of astronomy works on instrumentation that searches the night skies for planets outside our solar system, called extrasolar planets.


Searching for Alien Life, on Earth

Searching for Alien Life, on Earth

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 05, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0

If you spend an afternoon walking along the muddy shore of Mono Lake, with the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada mountains looming majestically in the background, you’ll no doubt discover, as others have ...