The first difference is in size. Both are defined as an expanse of water surrounded by land, but lakes are larger. The problem is that there are no minimum or maximum dimensions for each of them, which can lead to confusion. There is another difference related to the origin of their formation. “Lakes are generally the result of large-scale transformations of the terrestrial relief”, says geographer Mário de Biasi, from the University of São Paulo (USP). Most current lakes were born during the glaciations of the Pleistocene period (between 1.6 million and 10 thousand years ago), when much of the Earth was covered with ice. The slow displacement of glaciers opened large depressions in the ground, where water accumulated. This explains the high concentration of lakes in the northern hemisphere (an area greatly affected by glaciation), such as the Great Lakes, on the border between the United States and Canada.
Another possibility is the elevation of mountains, such as the Andes mountain range, which gave rise to Lake Titicaca, on the border between Peru and Bolivia. Ponds, on the other hand, are usually the result of localized phenomena. “A landslide or even a single beaver can form a pond”, says Mário. As there are no precise boundaries to differentiate one from the other, the terms lead to confusion and, in the end, the choice of name depends more on popular usage. A good example is Lagoa dos Patos, in Rio Grande do Sul – despite being the largest in Brazil, it is not called a lake.
Read too:
– What is cryptozoology?
– What are the biggest lakes in the world?
– How is the process of depollution of a pond?