To explain further, what stops lakes from simply seeping into the dirt, and thus vanishing? As a follow up question, what stops water from getting evaporated, and then the clouds move somewhere else and rain, thus depriving the lake of the water it lost?
In: Earth Science
Both of these things are happening constantly, but the rate at which they happen (overall) is not fast enough to make the lake be empty =)
For water to seep into the dirt it has to have somewhere to go. The dirt at the bottom of the lake is already saturated, so it can’t absorb more water. Usually you have to go pretty far away to find soil that can hold a lot more water for the exact reason you asked about.
Likewise, water is constantly evaporating from the lake. But a lake only has so much surface area so it can only evaporate so fast.
In contrast, lakes are typically areas where lots of rivers/streams/runoff feeds into a single location (the lake), so they are constantly refilling.
Latest Answers