Bruno_Tibet wrote:Fletch wrote:Doesn't a lake have to have an inlet and outlet (I mean technically)?
No, endorheic lakes have no outlet (closed drainage basins). Some of the largest lakes on earth are endorheic.Fletch wrote:Otherwise it's a pond, right?
There is no uniformally accepted definition for pond and lake, but let's say that size matters...
I agree with OOG, this google site is pretty cool you should check it out some time...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake#Types_of_lakes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorheic_basin
Check out Devils Lake in North Dakota:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Lake_(North_Dakota)
It's slowly swallowing up the nearby towns! I see a good Hollywood movie idea here
Speaking of lakes/ponds/seas etc, I assumed it had to do with size, inlet/outlet (or lack thereof) and salinity. I always was taught the Great Salt Lake was actually a sea. Similarly, the Salton Sea in southern California, although I guess it could be an endorheic lake. Endorheic... I like that word.
There's probably a lot of local custom at work when naming bodies of water.