Friday, April 22, 2011

There are NO natural lakes in Maryland.

Despite the fact that some of its bodies of water have been named "lakes" (Lake Habeeb, Deep Creek Lake) ALL of Maryland's lakes are man made! They have all been created by damming up preexisting rivers. Technically, that makes them reservoirs. Most of them are actually called reservoirs as well (e.g. Loch Raven Reservoir).

The reason that some of these artificial lakes are called lakes and some are called reservoirs is based on their use. The ones that were created for recreational http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifpurposes are called lakes. If the body of water was created for hydroelectricity, flood control, or as a water supply, it's a reservoir.

Most lakes in North America were formed by glaciers, but there were no glaciers in Maryland during the last Great Ice Age. Other ways natural lakes can be made are through landslide blocking a river, or volcanic activity.

To learn more about Maryland's artificial lakes click here.

No comments: