Whats in a name?

[un2xs]

I own half of a pond (the property line runs through it) that some of my friends call a lake. I call it a pond. I have never known the difference. Here in Kansas I call Milford and Tuttle Creek lakes/resevoirs. But my pond is just that.


A google search tells me that all the water in a pond is in the photic zone, meaning ponds are shallow enough to allow sunlight to reach the bottom. But, what if the water is relatively clear? Does that change the definition?

LakeScientist.com has three key questions that might help you in figuring out what body of water you’re looking at:

• Does light reach the bottom of the deepest point of the water body?
• Does the water body only get small waves (i.e., smaller than 1ft/30cm in height)?
• Is the water body relatively uniform in temperature?”

If the answer to all three of these questions is a yes, the site claims that you have yourself a pond and not a lake.


So, when do you call a body of water a pond and when do you call it a lake?

[Jordan]

I don't know the answer to that... but Lake Superior is technically a freshwater inland sea, so I suppose you can call anything, anything.

[HurtsDonut_]

I always thought it was size. If it's a handful of acres it's a pond. If it's a couple hundred acres it's a lake. Not sure at what acreage it switches.

[Knuckle Dragger]

I’d figure a way to dig or trench it into a moat. Fill it with gators and rabid piranhas. Build a draw bridge then infect it with termites.

[coyote]

If I can water ski in it it's a lake.

[snaparen]

I always thought that to be a lake it needed a water feed source other than rain fall and drainage, as in a spring, creek or river.

[Tarsun2]

wikipedia has some good distinctions.

"most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams"

a pond on the other hand is a body of water that is filled by runoff, groundwater, or rain. (or any combination of the 3). they can be seasonal, come and go, and generally dont affect the earth water cycle.


sooooo, where does the water come from? lets start with that. lol




ps, i get the same debate between a hill and a mountain. i ride at mountain creek thats actually more "hill" than "mountain" lol

[un2xs]

wikipedia has some good distinctions.

sooooo, where does the water come from? lets start with that. lol

The pond is fed primarily through runnoff. To muddy the waters, some of this runoff is outflow from a similarly sized pond uphill.

Also, there appears to be a year round spring on the neighbor's side. It is large enough that it can be heard when you are near it.

Nobody has asked yet, but I did a Google Earth map trace... apparently the surface area is about 8 acres. Sometimes less, sometimes more... it just depends on the rainfall.

When full, the water is over 30 feet deep in some places... so the light MIGHT NOT make it to the bottom.

ps, i get the same debate between a hill and a mountain. i ride at mountain creek thats actually more "hill" than "mountain" lol

I supposed that also depends who you ask. When I was in Denver, the Rockies were just hills on the horizon. Its not until you get closer that you can appreciate the elevation changes.... It stayed cool enough that we had a snow ball fight on July 4 when we took the pass over to top to avoid Eisenhower Tunnel

[Seajay]

If I can water ski in it it's a lake.

Technically you can water ski in my pool, and by definition in OP it is a pond.

Unless I'm filling it with a hose from my well, then it's a Lake.

It's also salt water, so it's an ocean?

[coyote]

If there is room for a boat, pwc, or cable boom to accelerate me to a speed where I plane, you would be correct.

The point, and attempted humor, was adequate size for the activity requires a body of water with less then humble dimensions.

[Seajay]

Lol you'd be doing some serious circles in my pool. Ever see those lawn tractor backyard water rides?

[ta2maki]

The Atlantic ocean is a pond. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dict...s%20the%20pond

[CrowsFeast]

30' deep I'd call a lake but let's muddy the waters some more with regional distinctions!

Neufie tour guide:
"Everything here is a pond. 'Round here a lake is a hole in ur boot!"

[~kaos~]

Just throwing this out there from all my years of water skiing and fishing but I can't recall ever being at a lake that didn't have a "dam"... Concrete with gates and pumphouse. On the other hand don't remember a pond with any dam unless it was beaver or log jam.