Johannah Haney - Lakes and Ponds!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids

Titles in the Explore Waterways Set

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Many plants and animals make their homes in lakes and ponds. Here is a glimpse of just a fewyoull meet many more in the pages of this book!

Imagine youre a turtle slipping under the surface of the fresh water of a lake. You spot schools of different types of fish swimming by. You might see the long legs of a wading bird.

You spot plenty of plants, some which are rooted in the bottom of the lakebed and others that float on the surface of the water. The lake is cool and pleasant and teeming with life!

A lake or pond is an area of slow-moving, open water surrounded by land on all sides. Lakes and ponds can be found everywhere on the earths continentseven in deserts!

What is the difference between a lake and a pond? People who study lakes and ponds are called limnologists .

They will tell you that a pond is smaller and may be shallow enough to have rooted plants growing across its entire bottom. Lakes are larger and are often deeper. While they may be full of plant life, plants with roots cannot live in the deepest depths.

WORDS TO KNOW

limnologist: a person who studies inland waterways.

glaciation: the process of glaciers carving out depressions in the land, which later became lakes.

ice age: a period of time when ice covers a large part of the earth.

glacier: a huge mass of ice and snow.

saline: describes lakes and ponds that contain salt.

algae: a plant-like organism that lives in water and grows by converting energy from the sun into food.

sediment: bits of rock, sand, or dirt that have been carried to a place by water, wind, or a glacier.

HOW DO LAKES AND PONDS FORM?

Many lakes and ponds were formed by a process called glaciation . During the last ice age , between about 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, huge glaciers slid slowly across the land.

LAKE HILLIER

Lake Hillier is a saline lake on an island off the western coast of Australia. Because of a certain type of algae called Dunaliella salina that live in the waters, the lake appears bubblegum pink when viewed from above, and a clear pink when viewed from the ground. And its not the only pink lake in the world! Dusty Rose Lake in British Columbia, Masazir Lake in Azerbaijan, and Laguna Colorada in Colombia are all lakes with pink colors because of algae , salt, or red sediments .

As the ice moved, it carved out deep gashes in the land, called depressions . When the glaciers melted, these depressions filled up with water, making many of the lakes and ponds we enjoy today.

The basin of a lake or pond is the hollowed-out area of the earth that fills with water. Lakes and ponds that were formed from glaciation are called glacial lakes . When you swim in a glacial lake, you are swimming where an enormous block of ice once sat!

Other lakes and ponds are caused by the movement of tectonic plates . These are the large sections of the earths crust that fit together like puzzle pieces.

WORDS TO KNOW

depression: a hole or low spot in the land.

basin: a hollow in the land into which water flows, forming a waterway.

glacial lake: a lake formed by the movement of glaciers.

tectonic plates: large sections of the earths crust that move on top of the hot, melted layer below.

crater lake: a lake formed by a collapsed volcano.

CRATER LAKES

When you think of volcanoes, you probably think of a mountain with steam and smoke escaping from the hole on top, and maybe even lava running down the side. Did you know volcanoes can turn into lakes? These are called crater lakes . One of the most famous crater lakes in the United States is Crater Lake in Oregon. Almost 8,000 years ago, Mount Mazama volcano collapsed, leaving a basin that is now filled with pure, clear water. This is the deepest lake in the United States! Learn more about Crater Lake in .

WORDS TO KNOW

tectonic lake: a lake formed in cracks made by the movement of tectonic plates.

meteorite: a meteor, which is a small piece of rock from space that hits the earths surface.

asteroid: a small, rocky object that orbits the sun.

extraterrestrial lake: a lake formed in the crater left by the impact of an asteroid or meteorite.

When tectonic plates move, the earths crust can crack. When those cracks fill with water, a lake or pond, called a tectonic lake , is formed.

Some lakes have basins that formed from a meteorite or asteroid striking Earth. These are called extraterrestrial lakes . One extraterrestrial lake in North America is Pingualuit Crater Lake in the Nunavik region of Qubec, Canada. About 1.4 million years ago, a meteorite struck the earth, burning a giant hole in the land.

CAN YOU SEE WHERE THE EARTH CRACKED IN THIS PICTURE?

CREDIT: NASA

WORDS TO KNOW

Inuit: the native people who live in northern Canada, parts of Greenland, and Alaska.

crater: a large, bowl-shaped hole in the ground caused by an impact.

dam: a natural or man-made barrier to flowing water.

crops: plants grown for food and other uses.

organic lake: a lake formed by animals or when vegetation or mud stops the flow of water.

vegetation: all the plant life in a particular area.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Inuit people call Pingualuit Crater Lake the Crystal Eye of Nunavik because it is perfectly round and crystal clear.

The crater is more than 2 miles wide and 800 feet deep. As time passed, the crater filled with water from rain and melting snow. This means Pingualuit Crater Lake has some of the clearest, purest water in the world.

Dams are another way that lakes and ponds can form. A dam is a structure that creates a barrier to stop water from flowing. Dams are built to prevent flooding, provide a source of water for crops , and generate electricity.