‘Mapping Earthforms: Lakes’
‘Mapping Earthforms: Lakes’ by Catherine Chambers and Nicholas Lapthorn
1. A lake is a large body of fresh or salty water that lies inland. Its waters are never connected directly to the sea.
2. Some lakes have been formed by glaciers that have scoured out hollows in Earth’s surface. Other lakes occur in huge dips in large expanses of rock, or in extinct volcanoes. Some lakes fill huge cracks (faults) made when Earth’s crust moves. Others can be made by humans — when huge dams block rivers.
3. Morning mists are a common feature of lake landscapes. When the night skies are clear, the moist air above the lake often gets very cold. The water droplets in the cold air turn into mist or fog clouds, which you can see early in the morning. When the sun comes out the water droplets evaporate and the mist disappears.
4. Underground lakes form when water seeps through soil and permeable rock at the surface, and then reaches an impermeable layer underneath. The water cannot soak through this rock so it just sits on top of it. A large part of Australia lies over a huge underground lake.
5. Lakes are home to many species of mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird and fish. Many freshwater lake animals are the same as those living in rivers and streams.
6. Pink flamingo’s long, curved bill scoops up tiny algae from the muddy water. The flamingo is pink because the lake waters are very salty and contain minerals that colour the algae the flamingo eats.
7. Terrapin, a reptile, lives in south and central Europe. The terrapin often chooses lakes to live. It dives in the water when it is disturbed and swims with its strong back legs. The terrapin eats fish, amphibians, and sometimes small land animals.
8. We want a lot of things from our lakes. We want the animals and plant life to stay as they are, but the beauty of lakes also attracts a lot of tourists to their shores. Tourists have meant more pollution.
Lakes shores are good places to build factories, which often need water for manufacturing. Factories also use the waters to carry away their waste. Lakeside forests provide trees that are cut down and floated along the lake to sawmills built around the shores. Minerals are mined in and around lakes.
Los Lobos — La Bamba (above)
蘇慧倫- 我一個人住 (below)
