Lakes: What are, characteristics and types

According to the Royal Spanish Academy, the definition of a lake (from Latin Lacus) is “a large permanent mass of water deposited in land depressions.” The lakes are still bodies of water that are formed in a depression of the landthey are surrounded by land and lack direct communication with the ocean.

They are generally freshwater And they are formed thanks to the contribution of rainfall, groundwater (napas), rivers and streams. However, there are also salty lakes without exit to the ocean that are popularly known as “seas”, such as the Dead Sea located in the Asian continent. There are also lakes created artificially by the human being such as Lake Paranoá of Brazil.

In this post you will find more information about the salty lakes: what are and examples.

• Luntic ecosystems: The lakes are classified into lentic water ecosystems together with lagoons, ponds and swamps, since they are closed bodies of water that remain in the same place, they do not flow or have a continuous current. You may be interested in reading this article about lentic ecosystems: what are and examples.
• Location: The majority of the lakes that are around the world are of fresh water and are located in the northern hemisphere. Canada, is one of the countries with the greatest number of lakes.
• Drainage and endorheic lakes: Lakes usually have a natural drain (rivers, streams) that maintain water level. Those who do not have any of these emissaries that eliminate excess water and whose loss is only through processes such as evaporation and filtration, are the so -called endorheic lakes.
• Vulnerability to aridity: In regions that present high aridity, where evaporation is intense, lakes can be dried for extensive periods of time.
• Internal movements: As much as the water remains still in the lakes, it presents internal movements. These can be generated by the currents of the upstream or below rivers, the action of the wind, and the natural depressions of the terrain.
• Thermal stratification: Based on their thermal stratification, the lakes are classified as holomictic, when they have a uniformity in temperature and density during certain times of the year, and meromictics, when their layers of water, of different temperatures and densities, do not mix. Holomictic lakes, depending on their thermal stratification and the frequency of water renovation, are further subdivided into amictic, monomicts (cold and warm), dimictic, polyymctics and oligomicists.

Knowledge about the origin of the lakes is essential for their conservation, the sustainable use of their resources, risk mitigation and scientific research. Lakes can originate from tectonic movements, by the action of water, the windvolcanoes, glaciers, rock dissolution, landslides, human activities and even catastrophic events. Here are what types of lakes exist according to their origin.

While there are different types of lakes according to their morphometric characteristics, stratification, productivity, among others, in this article we will focus on the classification of George Evelyn Hutchinson that divides 11 types of lakes According to its origin and training:

• Tectonic lakes: Formed by earth cortex movements, such as failures or sinking, generating large and deep depressions that can be filled with water. Lakes such as Baikal and Tanganica were formed by tectonic movements.
• Volcanic lakes: Created in craters or volcano boilers, they can arise due to the blockade of drainage due to the lava or by the collapse of a volcano.
• Glacier lakes: They result from the action of glaciers that excavate basins on the ground or by the obstruction of the drainage due to morrenas (barriers of rocky debris).
• River lakes: In Llanos and Planicies, the strength of the current creates meandros, where lagoons are often formed horseshoe or winding. The accumulation of silt or the collapse of the banks can obstruct the exit of a basin, resulting in the formation of lakes when the access of tributaries is cut.
• Solution lakes: A solution lake is formed when the solution of soluble rocks by precipitation and percolation of water creates cavities that, when collapsing, generate sinks. If the groundwater is close to the surface, these sinks are filled with water, giving rise to solution.
• Lagos of Territy: caused by the blockade of valleys due to landslides, rocks or debris that prevent the natural flow of rivers or streams. Such lakes are more common in mountainous regions.
• Winding lakes: Formed by the action of the wind, they predominate in arid areas and can be cups damaged by sand, lakes between dunes, or deflation basins. An example is Lake Moses in Washington in the United States.
• Coastal lakes: Coastal lakes are formed mainly by locking of estuaries or by the unequal accumulation of sand on the beaches due to coastal currents, creating bodies of water separate from the sea.
• Organic Lakes: Organic lakes are rare, small and are formed by the action of plants and animals. An example constitutes the turba lakes or those formed because of the prey of beavers.
• Anthropogenic lakes: Created by human activities such as the construction of dams, excavations, reservoirs for water storage, energy production, among others.
• Meteoritic lakes: Also called crater lakes (it should not be confused with those formed in volcanic craters) arise from catastrophic impacts of extraterrestrial objects against the earth.

Lakes are reservoirs of great biodiversity and provide habitat for numerous species of flora and fauna. Within this ecosystem, you can find microorganisms such as Plankton and algaefundamental at the base of the aquatic food chain.

Aquatic flora includes various species of submerged, floating and emerging plants that play a crucial role in stabilization of lake sediments and water oxygenation. In addition to the flora, the margins of the lakes support a variety of Terrestrial plants that provide refuge and food for animals, and help in the filtration of pollutants.

As for the fauna, the lakes house fish and amphibians to reptiles, mammals and a wide variety of birdsincluding migratory species that depend on these bodies of water for rest, food and reproduction. The depth, temperature, oxygenation levels and availability of nutrients in different areas of the lake contribute to the creation of diverse ecological niches, promoting a biodiversity that can vary significantly from one lake to another.

Now that you know what lakes are and what are their characteristics, do not miss these articles on the largest lakes in the world and lakes in Spain.

If you want to read more articles similar to Lakes: What are, characteristics and typeswe recommend that you enter our category of ecosystems.