A lake (from the Latin: lacus) is a body of generally fresh water, which is separated from the sea. The water supply to all lakes comes from rivers.
Lakes are one of the most common and large masses of water that we can find on the planet, they are freshwater and accumulate in depressions in the land.
In this way, lakes are defined as a mass of water characterized by little or no movement of matter. Unlike rivers, it is far from the sea and its origin is considered to have to do with glaciations, since the lake is usually located near mountainous areas or valleys.
For a lake to exist, there must be a depression in the ground in the same way that happens with valleys. The depth and extension of the lakes have to do precisely with the physical characteristics that this depression has.
Formation of the Lakes
Unlike what happens with ocean and sea waters, the lake is generally made up of fresh water. There are several ways in which a lake can form, among them the movement of Teutonic plates and the consequent formation of depressions in the terrain. These depressions can also be generated by volcanic movements.
Another possibility is the formation or melting of glaciers. Likewise, the sliding of sediments that block the outlet of a river or a moving water course can also occur.
Changes in your levels
Being a stable body of water, the lake observes its level changes through external actions. The increase in the water level of a lake can occur through constant and abundant rainfall that causes the level of the lake to rise and in the most extreme cases it can overflow its level; by possible tributaries; while the decrease can occur from evaporation, by underground tributaries or by the action of the human being who uses water as a natural resource.
Types of Lakes
-Because of the ice ages
Glaciations have originated most of the lakes. During a glaciation that occurred in areas of high latitudes, masses of ice up to 5km thick deepened the crust. As the glaciers advance and recede, the ice, sharp because of its load of crystals, scrubs the bottom of the valleys, opens cavities between the peaks and forms barriers of rocky debris (moraines). The end of the last ice age occurred 15,000 years ago.
-By tectonic forces
The folds of the earth's crust create depressions that accommodate the largest lakes, the crust undulating as a result of the pressure, causing rounded elevations called domes. Between 2 domes a depression or bucket is formed, in which even an arm of the sea would be trapped that sinks and creates a pit that usually contains something very deep or very old.
-By volcanic activity
Violent eruptions cause depressions that give rise to the most beautiful lakes before human eyes. Bursting through an opening allows the molten material to pierce bulging vessel-shaped craters that can measure up to a mile in diameter.
Caldera lakes are much larger and are produced when the rim of a volcano collapses into the empty magma chamber.
In fits of destruction, mud- and snow-covered crater lakes break through their rims or new explosions blow them apart.
-Due to fluvial erosion
The strength of the current in plains or plains, cause the opening of meanders, which in their interior form lakes that are horseshoe-shaped and sometimes serpentine. The silt or crumbling of the banks of a river, usually obstruct the outlet of a basin and with it, the access of a tributary is cut off and a lake is formed.
Lakes are one of the most common and large masses of water that we can find on the planet, they are freshwater and accumulate in depressions in the land.
In this way, lakes are defined as a mass of water characterized by little or no movement of matter. Unlike rivers, it is far from the sea and its origin is considered to have to do with glaciations, since the lake is usually located near mountainous areas or valleys.
For a lake to exist, there must be a depression in the ground in the same way that happens with valleys. The depth and extension of the lakes have to do precisely with the physical characteristics that this depression has.
Formation of the Lakes
Unlike what happens with ocean and sea waters, the lake is generally made up of fresh water. There are several ways in which a lake can form, among them the movement of Teutonic plates and the consequent formation of depressions in the terrain. These depressions can also be generated by volcanic movements.
Another possibility is the formation or melting of glaciers. Likewise, the sliding of sediments that block the outlet of a river or a moving water course can also occur.
Changes in your levels
Being a stable body of water, the lake observes its level changes through external actions. The increase in the water level of a lake can occur through constant and abundant rainfall that causes the level of the lake to rise and in the most extreme cases it can overflow its level; by possible tributaries; while the decrease can occur from evaporation, by underground tributaries or by the action of the human being who uses water as a natural resource.
Types of Lakes
-Because of the ice ages
Glaciations have originated most of the lakes. During a glaciation that occurred in areas of high latitudes, masses of ice up to 5km thick deepened the crust. As the glaciers advance and recede, the ice, sharp because of its load of crystals, scrubs the bottom of the valleys, opens cavities between the peaks and forms barriers of rocky debris (moraines). The end of the last ice age occurred 15,000 years ago.
-By tectonic forces
The folds of the earth's crust create depressions that accommodate the largest lakes, the crust undulating as a result of the pressure, causing rounded elevations called domes. Between 2 domes a depression or bucket is formed, in which even an arm of the sea would be trapped that sinks and creates a pit that usually contains something very deep or very old.
-By volcanic activity
Violent eruptions cause depressions that give rise to the most beautiful lakes before human eyes. Bursting through an opening allows the molten material to pierce bulging vessel-shaped craters that can measure up to a mile in diameter.
Caldera lakes are much larger and are produced when the rim of a volcano collapses into the empty magma chamber.
In fits of destruction, mud- and snow-covered crater lakes break through their rims or new explosions blow them apart.
-Due to fluvial erosion
The strength of the current in plains or plains, cause the opening of meanders, which in their interior form lakes that are horseshoe-shaped and sometimes serpentine. The silt or crumbling of the banks of a river, usually obstruct the outlet of a basin and with it, the access of a tributary is cut off and a lake is formed.
Show More
