Lecture 3

CCC 716

Origin and classification of Lake

 Lake types

Lakes can be divided into two broad categories: When the whole lake reaches a
similar temperature, wind forces are again able to mix the lake from top to bottom
in a process called mixing/turnover

Holomictic lakes - refers to those lakes that circulate completely from top to
bottom

Meromictic lakes
- lakes that do not circulate their entire water volume - the lower portion does not
circulate.

Can be the result of chemical gradients or unique characteristics of a lake (e.g. Lake
Baikal – great depth)
 Meromictic Lake

epilimnion

metalimnion

hypolimnion

chemocline

MONIMOLIMNION

Sediments
Based on the mixing process, lakes can be

1. Amictic - always ice covered. Polar and alpine lakes

2. Dimictic - > 2 mixing/year

3. Continuous warm polymictic - no seasonal ice cover, stratifying at

most for a few hours at a time. e.g. shallow tropical lakes.
 Origin of lake basin
- Tectonic, Volcanic, Impact, Landslides, Human, Glacial
- River Activity, Wind Formed, Sinkholes, Springs,
Depositional processes, Beavers

Wetzel, Fig. 3-1

 Origin of lake basin
Tectonic – (e.g. Graben Lake)

Volcanic
Maars
Caldera Lakes

Impact

Landslides

Human Activity (e.g. dams, excavations, reservoirs)

Glacial - Glacial scoured lakes

Lakes dammed by moraines
Kettle Lakes
 Origin of lake basin

1) Tectonic activity = formed by movement of the Earth’s crust (e.g.

faulting)

(e.g. Baikal) Wetzel, Fig. 3-8

 Origin of lake basin
2) Volcanic activity
Maar: A volcanic crater that is produced by an explosion in an
area of low relief, is generally more or less circular, and often
contains a lake

http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/images/maars.gif
Lava lakes and pond, Iceland (formed in lava flows)
 Origin of lake basin

3) Meteoric impact craters

 Origin of lake basin

4) Landslide activity

Wetzel, Fig. 3-11

 Origin of lake basin
5) Humans
- dams (reservoirs, impoundments)

Hydro dam
 Origin of lake basin

6) Glacial activity

Kettle lakes

Glacial activity: By far the most important agent in the formation of

lakes
kettle or ice block lakes

Wetzel, Fig. 3-14

Wetzel, Fig. 3-14
 kettle lakes
http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpe/environments/location_image/geo_images/geo_site_images/pic36.jpg
 Origin of lake basins

7) Sinkhole/solution lakes (dolines)

Solution lakes are very common in limestone

regions of the world. Formed by the solution of
limestone by groundwater

Lake depressions can be created in any area

from deposits of soluble rock that are slowly
dissolved by percolating water.
Lake Wales, FL
 Origin of lake basin

8) River Activity –

Plunge Pool Lakes

Lateral Lakes

Deltaic Lakes

Oxbow Lakes
 Origin of lake basin
8) River Activity –

Plunge pool lakes

forms in depression where a waterfall once resided

http://www2.gasou.edu/facstaff/etmcmull/DINO.htm
 Origin of lake basin
River Activity –

Lateral lakes: formed along a large slow moving

river. Sediments form main streams deposits as
dams

http://www.lsw.org/scd/Ecology/13S%20Lat
eral%20Lakes.jpg
 Origin of lake basin

River Activity –

Deltaic lakes: – river enters relative calm

water. Deposits sediment (dam). Result is an
isolated shallow lakes, which are normally
brackish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_Delta
River Activity – Oxbow lakes
Origin of lake basin

Occur because of meandering river. > erosion on outside with deposit on inside.
Wetzel, Fig. 3-15
 Origin of lake basin

9) Wind Formed –

Dune lakes

Dune lakes – redistribution of sand in arid regions

Ashby, Nebraska
 Origin of lake basin

10) Basins formed by depositional processes

Wetzel, Fig. 3-16

Coastal lake being enclosed by a sand-reef bridge formed by currents

Lakes in India

Conservation and Management of Lakes-An Indian Perspective

 Few lakes of India

Chilika Lake, Odisha, largest brackish water lagoon

Dal Lake, Srinagar, it is the remnants of a post-glacial lake (one

version of its origin)

Wular Lake, Jammu and Kashmir, formed by tectonic activity

Jaisamand Lake, Rajasthan, artificial freshwater lake

Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan, largest inland salt lake

Kanwar Lake, Bihar, freshwater oxbow lake

Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh, shallow freshwater lake, located

between delta of Godavari and Krishna river

Pulikat Lake, Andhra Pradesh, brackish water lake

Lonar Lake, Maharasthra, crater lake

Acknowledgement

Thank you Prof. Brian Cumming and Prof. John Smol (Queen’s
university, dept. of Biology, Kingston, Ontario, Canada) for
sharing slides with me