It’s All About Lakes
Earth has 195 countries and except for 19, each one has at least one of these blue, watery, scenic beauties.
Lakes.
Nature’s breathtaking mirror, a tree-lined shore that glimmers at the slightest breeze. The higher the elevation the more quiet. Usually nestled in mountain cradles, lakes offer a sense of calm when your eyes rove between the surrounding green grasses, the clouds above, lush hills, and wildlife gazing at their reflection as they satisfy their thirst.On this planet, it is estimated that there are about 117 million of these reservoirs that are larger than an area roughly the size of a quarter of a football field, and they cover nearly 4% of our global surface. Lakes: another of our environment’s most intriguing natural and precious wonders.To grasp exactly how mainstream lakes are, know that if you arranged every lake shore end to end, the total length would equal about 250 times the length of the 24,901 mi long circumference of Earth, the equator.
Minnesota’s 11,842 lakes and Canada’s 2,000,000 give you an idea of where to go to find ice fishing in the winter and fly fishing in the summer. There are about 250 in the U.S. with surface areas of 10+ square miles, and over three million in all - mostly in Alaska. To be classified as a lake, they must be surrounded by land and they are found in every type of environment: mountains, deserts, plains, and near seashores. The smallest are called ponds while the largest are referred to as seas. Fresh-water seas. The record breaker for size is the Caspian Sea which covers 143,000 square miles shared by Europe and Asia. The depth record holder is one mile, held by Russia’s Lake Baikal; and it contains almost as much water as all of America’s northern Great Lakes combined.The Andes boast the highest lake Titicaca with an elevation at 12,500 feet above sea level while the lowest lake is the Dead Sea, 1300+ feet below sea level.
Most of the world’s lakes contain fresh water that is derived either from rain, snow, streams, or groundwater. They are defined as either being open, when its water leaves by a river; or closed, when its water leaves by evaporation. North American lakes are formed in basins that largely came about from the ice age glaciers. These masses of ice carved out enormous pits that filled as the ice melted. The movement of tectonic plates, as well as collapsed volcanoes, were other sources of land depressions that filled with rainwater over the ages. Lakes can also be created by rivers, landslides, beavers, and people. Artificial lakes for recreation and hydroelectric power are prime examples of human influence in the U.S. In 2012, the EPA assessed 111,119 lakes and found 48% were man-made.
It is so ironic that lakes and humans have the same life cycle: youth, maturity, old age, and death. Once formed, these splendid sheets of water never stay the same. While lakes seem like they will be here for an eternity, there comes a time when they dry up and vanish. But their natural process takes hundreds if not thousands of years to complete. When the water plants and algae die, the decomposition sinks to the lake bottom to form sediment. The remains of fish and miniature wildlife pile up and a bog begins to form. The drying up process commences and eventually what was once a body of water becomes dry land.Truly a natural process transformed through the centuries under nature’s watchful eye.
Up until about 75 years ago, that is.
Irreversible water consumption and climate change are bringing an early end to many of the world’s most predominant lakes. Humans. As we make Earth warmer, our 8.2 billion souls must have an endless supply of fresh water. Alarmingly, about one-quarter of our planet’s population lives in a drying lake’s basin. A 1992-2020 satellite-based study published in May 2023, revealed that 2,000 of the world’s largest lakes and reservoirs are experiencing staggering shrinkage equal to an average of 22 million metric tons per year. Or an annual amount equalling 17 Lake Meads. More than half of the drain is attributed to human consumption and global warming. These particular 2000 lakes comprise about 95% of Earth’s lake water storage. Aridity trending is now more consequential than scientists ever imagined. Let’s look at human interference. Take the 1300-acre Lake Peigneur in Louisiana for instance.
Home to a diversified wildlife base, in 1980 it quickly vanished when an oil well in the lake became stuck 1200’ down causing the platform to collapse below the freshwater surface. A big whirlpool reached out and sucked other oil rigs in, as well as a nearby dock. A canal reversed itself and disappeared into the whirlpool and soon the lake’s 3.5 billion gallons of water vanished from sight! Or take Africa’s Lake Chad. An ancient wonder once thought to be 390,000 square miles that had Roman explorers analyzing it, contained about 10,000 square miles of water 65 years ago. Now, 99% of the lake no longer exists because the surrounding population needs drinking water to survive a ceaseless drought. Currently, there are 520 square miles of freshwater left which might last another five years.
When it comes to disappearing bodies of water for the wrong reason, Russia’s Aral Sea crisis is one of the most talked about around the world. When you have a moment, go online to view the shrinking Aral Sea, a victim of water diversion. Pooled long ago by a natural melding of two major rivers of the region into a lower basin, this lake was once the world’s fourth largest. A decision was made in the 1960s to divert a portion of the rivers away into a local desert region to irrigate farmlands surrounding the Sea. It was determined later on that much of the water was wasted.
Nevertheless, the desert bloomed alive for the area farmer’s cotton agriculture to flourish, but far less water in the Aral Sea caused the lake to split, losing much of the original water volume. Toxic sea bottom dust plumes blew 360 degrees. Fisheries and the surrounding communities collapsed because the remaining salty water became polluted with fertilizer and pesticides used in the adjacent croplands. Cotton requires dangerous levels of brutal chemicals. The resulting ecological disaster displaced 100,000+ people and impacted more than five million people throughout the large region. Spikes in asthma, typhoid, anemia, and tuberculosis resulted in eight times the national average. About 150,000 tons of toxic chemicals have contaminated the water since the 1990s.
All because of a polluting 1960s environmental verdict with no concern for health impacts when it comes to transboundary decisions. Restoration efforts have been underway for decades and assistance programs exist in the area. The US Agency USAID funded drinking water supplies and developed water management policies, as well as resource management. Today, the Aral Sea is a fraction of what it once was. Increased salinity, pesticide overuse, and toxic dust storms continue to worsen health issues and life expectancy.
The Aral Sea disaster is the poster child for human interference with mother nature. 53% of worldwide lakes are experiencing a noticeable decline in size. Whether the cause is global warming, water withdrawal, or other human intervention activities, the resulting consequences will only grow more severe unless climate action intensifies. Without climate leadership stepping up, the water scarcity, ecosystem, and economic impacts for drought-ridden sectors become more and more frightening.
And the Western U.S. is not being spared.
For a broader understanding, please research the challenges facing Lake Mead AZ, Lake Powell AZ, Utah’s Great Salt Lake, Owens Lake CA, Mono Lake CA, Tulare Lake CA, Salton Sea CA, and Walker Lake, NV.
So much at stake.