A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size surrounded by land. The vast majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. In ecology the environment of a lake is referred to as lacustrine. Large lakes are occasionally referred to as "inland seas" and small seas are occasionally referred to as lakes. Smaller lakes tend to put the word "lake" after the name, as in Green Lake, while larger lakes often invert the word order, as in Lake Ontario, at least in North America.
The term lake is also used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre, which is a dry basin most of the time but may become filled under seasonal conditions of heavy rainfall.
Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for hydro-electric power supply, recreational purpoGeologically speaking, most lakes are young. The natural results of erosion will tend to wear away one of the basin sides containing the lake, such as the shores of Lake Baikal in Russia which is estimated to be 25–30 million years old. There are a number of natural processes that can form lakes. A recent tectonic uplift of a mountain range can create bowl-shaped depressions that accumulate water and form lakes. The advance and retreat of glaciers can scrape depressions in the surface where lakes accumulate; such lakes are common in Scandinavia, Siberia and Canada. Lakes can also form by means of landslides or by glacial blockages. An example of the latter occurred during the last ice age in the state of Washington, when a huge lake formed behind a glacial flow; when the ice retreated, the result was an immense flood that created the Dry Falls at Sun Lakes, Washington.
Salt crystals, on the shore of Lake Urmia, IranSalt lakes (also called saline lakes) can form where there is no natural outlet or where the water evaporates rapidly, and the drainage surface of the water table has a higher than normal salt content. Examples of salt lakes include Great Salt Lake, the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea.
Small, crescent-shaped lakes called oxbow lakes can form in river valleys as the result of meandering. The slow-moving river forms a sinuous shape as the outer side of bends are eroded away more rapidly than the inner side. Eventually a horseshoe bend is formed and the river cuts through the narrow neck. This new passage then forms the main passage for the river and the ends of the bend become silted up, thus forming a bow-shaped lake.
Lake Vostok is an subglacial lake in Antarctica, possibly the largest in the world. The pressure from ice and the internal chemical composition means that if the lake were drilled into, it may result in a fissure which would spray in a similar fashion to a geyser.
Some lakes, such as Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika lie along continental rift zones, and are created by the crust's subsidence as two plates are pulled apart. These lakes are the oldest and deepest in the world, and may be destined over millions of years to become oceans. The Red Sea is thought to have originated as a rift valley lake.
Crater Lake in Oregon is a lake located within the caldera of Mount Mazama. The caldera was created in a massive volcanic eruption that lead to the subsidence of Mount Mazama around 4860 BC. Since that time, all eruptions on Mazama have been confined to the caldera.
ses, industrial use, agricultural use, or domestic water supply.
THE EARTH'S CRUST
The whole earth is made of rocks & minerals. Inside the earth there is a liquid core of molten rock and on the outside there is a hard crust. If you compare the earth to an egg, the shell on an egg is like the crust on the earth. The crust is made up of rocks and minerals. Much of the crust is covered by water, sand, soil and ice. If you dig deep enough, you will always hit rocks.
Below the loose layer of soil, sand & crumbled rocks found on Earth is bedrock, which is a solid rock.
The Crust makes up less than 1% of the Earth’s mass (0.4%) It is made of oxygen, magnesium aluminum, silicon calcium, sodium potassium, iron. There are 8 elements that make up 99% of the Earth’s crust. The continents are about 35 km thick and the ocean floors are about 7 lm thick.
The Mantle is the solid casing of the Earth and is about 2900 km thick. It makes up about 70% of the Earth’s mass (68.1%). It is made up of silicon, oxygen, aluminum and iron.
The Core is mainly made of iron and nickel and makes up about 30% of the Earth’s mass (31.5%). The Outer Core is 2200 km thick and is liquid and the Inner core is 1270 km thick and is solid.
ROCKS
The rocks you see around you - the mountains, canyons & riverbeds, are all made of minerals. A rock is made up of 2 or more minerals. Think of a chocolate chip cookie as a rock. The cookie is made of flour, butter, sugar & chocolate. The cookie is like a rock and the flour, butter, sugar & chocolate are like minerals. You need minerals to make rocks, but you don't need rocks to make minerals. All rocks are made of minerals.
2006-11-06 09:36:01
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answer #3
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answered by richy 2
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