Water bodies of all types have been the source of some of the world’s greatest mysteries of all time.
From their formation to the life found within their depths, oceans, sea-beds, lakes, and rivers are continuously observing science and technology to discover more than what we already know.
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After all, who wouldn’t be drawn to the breath-taking beauty and mystery of the water bodies, especially lakes?
Salty or fresh lakes have been one of the oldest sources of water and irrigation on land. Even though humankind has studied and learned so much about lakes, there is still so much to this day that doesn’t cease to surprise us one bit. Hence, here are some newest six surprising facts about lakes.
1. All Good Things Come In Small Packages
You might think, well, lakes are so small and surrounded by and, how significant can they be. Well, surprise, there are 117 million lakes on the face of this plant. This means that they come together to cover almost 4% of the Earth’s continental land surface if combined. Moreover, you should never underestimate the lake’s size because it might look small in diameter, but you can never be too sure of its depth. Hence, many lakes can easily be around 5000ft deep and just an acre in size.
2. Lake Superior Is the Superior of All Lakes
If the name hasn’t given away too much already, then we’d like to enlist some of the most amazing, fascinating, and truly surprising facts about Lake Superior alone, as the superior of all lakes it deserves:
- Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by its surface area spanning over 32,000 square miles.
- The total water accumulated in Lake Superior can easily make up 50% of all water found in the Great Lakes.
- The deepest point in Lake Superior hits 1330ft in depth. Hence, the entire Empire State Building could easily sink beneath it.
3. Northern Earth Is Home To Most Lakes
Most of the Northern countries of the planet like Canada, Alaska, Sweden, Finland, and Russia are homes to the world’s many lakes. Even though you may believe that lakes ought to be found towards the south, amidst tropical land bodies. But as the land count decrease, so does the lake count. Hence, thanks to the tectonic plates that scattered the landmass, there are more lakes up north than the south.
4. Blame It on the Ice Age
Unlike river streams that can find their origination from high above the mountains, lakes lie far low compared to the average sea level. In fact, 85% of most of the elevated ones are less than 1600ft above sea level. The main reason behind this phenomenon is due to Ice Age. During the Ice Age, glaciers scarped the landmass flat and so many lakes formed after were due to the water melting far below the surface than high above.
5. All Lakes Come & Go Naturally
It is a surprising fact that lakes can just come and go as they please. For instance, in August 2014, a new lake was discovered in Gafsa, Tunisia, which definitely wasn’t there before. Scientists cite the reason as groundwater release or pooling of rainwater. Similarly, many lakes in Russia and Alaska can disappear as the higher temperatures give in to permafrost.
6. The Clearest Water Body
“The Blue Lake” or “Rotomairewhenua” is the clearest body of freshwater known globally. It is located in New Zealand and, according to research, possesses a visibility scale of up to 80 meters (almost 260 feet). This means that the lake’s water is considered to be visually or optically just as clear as distilled drinking water in our homes. So the next time you are visiting New Zealand, do give the might clear water body a dunk.
Final Thoughts
Lakes are beautiful, mysterious and have an almost eerie sense of calm about them. Given that this particular water body is mostly at a standstill unlike, river streams and ocean waves, there is too much that goes on beneath the surface that many of us would find surprising.
Do you enjoy lake landscapes? Take a plunge with our beautiful wallpapers of lakes every time you open a new tab.
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