What's the Difference Between a Lake and a Pond?

If you ask the average person what makes a lake different from a pond, they might say a pond is just a big muddy hole with water in it, while a lake is much bigger and has moving water.

This is true at the most basic level, but the real differences (and similarities) flow much deeper.

Pondering the Differences

We joke about England and the United States being just "across the pond" from each other, but a real pond is nothing like the ocean that separates these two countries. And while both lakes and ponds are inland bodies of freshwater that contain living organisms, the website for the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, says the primary differences are in the depth and surface area of each, and therefore the resulting biomes of each.

Ponds are generally the smaller and shallower of the two, resulting in less surface area. They're considered lentic systems, which means they're pretty much bodies of standing water. That water also is in the photic zone, meaning it's shallow enough so sunlight reaches the bottom. The light allows plants to grow at the bottom, too, as well as on the surface. The water in a pond tends to maintain a more uniform temperature and has smaller — if any — waves, lending itself to a variety of flora and fauna.

A "lonely" frog you might see floating on a pond lily pad probably actually has a host of neighbors amongst the cattails, phytoplankton and "pond scum." Turtles, fish, snakes, birds, and lots of insects take up residence within a pond's different zones.

Lake Life

Because lakes are deeper, sunlight typically can't reach all the way to the bottom. These deep areas are known in lakes as aphotic zones, or regions of perpetual darkness that lie beneath the photic zone. In other words, the water is so deep that plants can't grow beneath the surface because sunlight can't penetrate to the bottom.

Unlike the consistent water temperatures in a pond, lake water temps can vary widely due to the fluctuating depths and the flowing tributaries that create more wave activity. The aquatic plants and animals in most lakes could live in almost any water. But in addition to the frogs and insects that might also be in a pond, lakes can host alligators, beavers, otters, snakes or other creatures depending on the region or habitat. Lake or pond, though, both provide important habitats for wildlife and support biodiversity.