Key Difference: Here we are going to see the major differences between Lake and River. Lakes and rivers are both main water bodies all over the world. The main difference between a river and a lake is the size, shape, creation, and movement. Rivers look like snakes slithering away, whereas lakes are more like huge puddles of water.
Rivers are always moving, whereas lakes for general purposes are stationary. The body of the longest river in the world is 6650 km. A lake is larger and deeper than a pond, and although it is mainly used as a watershed and a body of water must be at least 2–5 hectares wide to be considered a lake.
Rivers and lakes are of more importance to all human beings. They provide water for irrigation, drinking, and industries, and they help to develop fisheries. Both lakes and rivers are used to harness their energy to generate electricity or to change the ecosystem in an area.
The interesting facts about both lakes and rivers are, Lakes contain 90% of Earth’s water, excluding oceans. The river is a “V” shaped valley, which erodes the sand and carves the valley floor. Here in this article, you can know the crucial differences between lakes and rivers in a detailed manner.
LAKE
Lake is a larger water body.
The Lake is the larger water body surrounded by land. There are millions of lakes in this world. Generally, it differs in size, and has greater depth, and is mostly filled with Freshwater rivers. It differs with elevations when compared to other water bodies. The special thing about the lake is, it is located on every continent in the world. The small lakes are called ponds.
All the lakes are inland water-fill depressions on the surface of the Earth. Mostly, freshwater lakes are in open conditions. Overall, lakes are open and also in a closed manner.
A Good Example of the word LAKE : “Great Salt lake is located in the United States”.
How do We Spell the Word Lake?
Spell / Pronunciation in which a word or particular language is spoken among people. The Oral representation of the word Lake is “layk“. It would help if you practiced it slowly for the outcome of a perfect spell.
In Latin language, the word lake is pronounced as “lacus“. Likewise, there are many differences in the pronunciation of the word Lake in multiple languages. Below, you can know by hearing the audio of the word Lake.
Enunciation:
Syllabification refers to letters that hold together to make a single sound. We are going to see the syllable of the word “LAKE” is 1, which means it cannot be divided into parts, and to pronounce it, we have stressed it in front of the word lake.
Using “Lake” in sentences:
- There is a big lake in front of my house.
- The bottom of the lake is filled with mud.
- Smith dives into the lake to swim.
- How dare you to throw a stone in the lake?
- Udaipur is the city of lakes.
RIVER
A river is a moving water body.
The River is a ribbon like water body that flows down towards the force of gravity of Earth. It is so wide and open, and it is also located in every continent in the world. Rivers flow the water towards Ocean and Sea. It is nourished by precipitation through seepages and water melts from glaciers in mountains.
The river losts the water mainly due to seepage and percolation and by evaporation. Rates of Erosion and Transportation of water vary from river to river. The largest water supply is by rivers throughout the world.
A Good Example to the Word “RIVER” is “Amazon River is the largest river in the world”.
How do We Spell the Word River?
The vocal representation of the word River is “ ri·vuh” How do the UK and American people spell the word fear? It is “riv-uh“. Below, you can know by hearing the audio of the word RIVER.
Enunciation:
Syllabification is where we split the words into individual vowel sounds. A syllable should have at least one vowel in the word. We are going to see the syllable of the word River,
Wondering if it has two syllables in it,
It can split as RIV-ER.
Using “RIVER” in sentences:
- We used a boat to ride in the river.
- Adam’s hobby is swimming in the river.
- How to build a bridge across a river?
- A river is a water body that flows downward.
- The Nile river is the longest river in the world.
Similarities between Lake and River
The title reveals the difference between Lake and River. But, like, you want to know also similar things about the above two words. So come, let’s see below.
- Rivers and lakes are large water bodies that contain freshwater.
- Both rivers and lakes are naturally made and bigger.
- Waves are most common in both rivers and lakes.
Compare: Lake and River
Here, we have shown the major differences of lake and river in the tabular form.
| LAKE | RIVER | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It is a larger body of moving slowly & standing water that fills an inland basin. | It is a larger natural stream that connects with Lakes, Sea and Ocean. |
| Water Movement | Standing body of water. It can move only when wind blows. | Moving water flows from one place to another, and it is a fast moving current. |
| Boundaries | It is surrounded by land. Lakes are filled by the water from streams, and by rain. | It is surrounded by the river bank. It flows the water to Sea and in Ocean. |
| Creation | It is created by both natural occurring and by man-made. | It is purely based on naturally occurring it cant be man-made. |
| Water type | It consists of Freshwater, Salt water and Brackish water. | It consists of mostly Freshwater and Brackish water near sea outlets. |
| Examples | I walked along the shore of the lake. May I swim in this lake? This is the beautiful lake I have ever seen. Clara went to the edge of the lake. She owns a resort that contains a lake. | The river flows across the main city in the country. What is the name of this river? The blue color represents river in the map. The River water used for irrigation in agriculture. Nancy loves to swim in river. |
Infographic Representation
Resources & References
Resources: Cambridge Dictionary (Lake, River), Merriam-Webster (Lake, River), Collins Dictionary (Lake, River), Dictionary.com (Lake, River)
Reference: Dictionary.Cambridge.org[1], Merriam-Webster. com[2], CollinsDictionary. com[3], Dictionary. com[4].