lake summary

Learn about the general characteristics of lakes

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see lake.

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

lake, Relatively large body of slow-moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin. Lakes are most abundant in high northern latitudes and in mountain regions, particularly those that were covered by glaciers in recent geologic times. The primary sources of lake water are melting ice and snow, springs, rivers, runoff from the land surface, and direct precipitation. In the upper part of lakes there is a good supply of light, heat, oxygen, and nutrients, well distributed by currents and turbulence. As a result, a large number of diverse aquatic organisms can be found there. The most abundant forms are plankton (chiefly diatoms), algae, and flagellates. In the lower levels and in the sediments, the main forms of life are bacteria. See also limnology.

Lake of Averno Summary

Lake of Averno, crater lake in Napoli province, Campania region, southern Italy, in the Campi Flegrei volcanic region, west of Naples. It is 7 ft (2 m) above sea level, 118 ft deep, and nearly 2 mi (more than 3 km) in circumference, with no natural outlet. Its Greek name, Aornos, was interpreted as

Crater Lake Summary

Crater Lake, deep, clear, intensely blue lake located within a huge volcanic caldera in the Cascade Range, southwestern Oregon, U.S., about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Medford. The lake and its surrounding region became Crater Lake National Park in 1902, with an area of 286 square miles (741

Dongting Lake Summary

Dongting Lake, large lake in northern Hunan province, south-central China. It lies in a basin to the south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) and is connected to the Yangtze by four channels. Typically, some two-fifths of the river’s waters flow into the lake, the amount increasing during flood

Lake Ysyk Summary

Lake Ysyk, a drainless lake in northeastern Kyrgyzstan. Situated in the northern Tien Shan (“Celestial Mountains”), it is one of the largest high-mountain lakes in the world and is famous for its magnificent scenery and unique scientific interest. It is situated within the bottom edges of the Lake