whats the difference between a lake and a sea?

Question

is it based on size or something else? the aral sea is small, but lake baykal is enormous.........

well what about the Holy See then??

Answer 1

Lake:
A large inland body of fresh water or salt water.

Sea:
1. The continuous body of salt water covering most of the earth's surface, especially this body regarded as a geophysical entity distinct from earth and sky.

2.relatively large body of salt water completely or partially enclosed by land.


so size really isn't what you classify by. Just mostly what surrounds it (all land, some land, etc.)


thanks for asking this question. most people dont know or get confused.

Answer 2

There is no objective scientific distinction between the two. A sea can be a part of the ocean that has enough cultural significance to get a name, or an arm of the ocean such as a gulf or large bay. Sea can also refer to a very large freshwater lake, or to any size saltwater lake. Most geographical features were named a long time ago by people who knew little of the rest of the world, and weren't thinking of naming things according to any system.

Answer 3

A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land, meaning surrounded on all sides by land. A sea is a large expanse of saline water (salt water) connected with an ocean, or a large, usually saline, lake that lacks a natural outlet such as the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea.

Answer 4

A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. A vast majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water

A sea is a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, or a large, usually saline, lake that lacks a natural outlet such as the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea.

Answer 5

between a lake and a sea. While "sea" is a general designation for all the salt water in all the oceans, it's also the name associated with bodies of salt water that are partially landlocked, like the Red Sea. "Sea" is used as well to designate inland bodies of salt water, such as the Aral Sea, and sometimes even inland bodies of fresh water, for example the Sea of Gallilee. A lake is considered to be a large, inland body of fresh water, though, no distinction is given as to exactly how large a body of water must be to be a lake. For our purposes, we'll say that any inland water body is a lake, regardless of whether it contains fresh or salty water.

Answer 6

a lake is enclosed
a sea attaches to the ocean
"It's not a rigid definition. Seas are delineated by land masses, whether or not they are largely enclosed. They should also communicate with the ocean. The Meditteranean and Black seas qualify here, because saltwater actually flows IN to both those bodies of water. The Caspian Sea is, strictly speaking, not really a sea but instead the world's largest lake. Why aren't the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California, Hudson Bay, and the Bay of Bengal not called seas? No real reason. It's just a matter of names. If different people had named them, they might have been called seas."

Answer 7

Sea
The expanse of salt water that covers most of the earth's surface and surrounds the land masses. A body of salt water that is secondary in size to oceans.
Lake
A large area of water surrounded by land. Normally fresh water but in some cases can be appreciably saline depending on the geology of the underlying and surrounding terrain. Lakes are living systems containing various quantities of biological organisms. Lakes can be classified according to the level of bioproductivity as oligotrophic (low productivity), mesotrophic or eutrophic (high productivity). The productivity is usually controlled by the amount of nutrients (mostly phosphorus and nitrogen) present in the water and the amount of light that can penetrate the water column.

Answer 8

With a few exceptions, a lake is freshwater, sea saltwater. The Great Lakes are freshwater, but open to the Ocean, while the Caspian sea is saltwater, and enclosed.

There are a few exceptions - such as the Great Salt Lake, for example.

Answer 9

Lake - A body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land.

Sea - A division of these waters, of considerable extent, more or less definitely marked off by land boundaries: the North Sea.

It also mentions that sea's are salty, so perhaps that is the difference? Other wise they sound the same to me!

Answer 10

Lake --- a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land.

sea---the salt waters that cover the greater part of the earth's surface.

basically a lake is smaller and landlocked or surrounded by land while a sea is larger than a lake and is a free to flow into a bigger vaster Ocean.