The Lake & Pond Report

by Melvin Waterpepper, Leader of Wetland Patrol No. 1

Water, Water Everywhere!
Did you know that there are approximately 100,000lakes (each bigger than 100 acres) in the United States and even more in Canada? That's a lot of water! That doesn't count all the smaller lakes and ponds. Even so, all the lakes and ponds in the entire world make up only a tiny part of Earth's water. In fact, if all the water on Earth is equal to one dollar, then all the water in all the world's lakes and ponds would equal less than a penny! The great majority of water on this planet is salty ocean water.

How Lakes and Ponds Were Formed:
Lakes and ponds can be formed in many different ways. In Canada and the Northern United States, they were carved out by glaciers. In the Southeast, lake basins were formed by ancient receding oceans. In the West, there are glacial lakes high up in the mountains, and desert lakes that form in sandy depressions when the water table rises. Some extinct volcano craters even turn into lakes.

Why Are Lakes and Ponds So Important?
Lakes and ponds are very important to humans, and other animals and plants, too. They provide us with water for drinking and irrigation. Many lakes also make great vacation spots. Ducks, frogs, beavers, trout and many other animals need lakes and ponds for nesting, breeding, eating and hiding from predators. There are so many creatures living in lakes, ponds, and other wetland ecosystems that wetlands have almost as much biodiversity as tropical rainforests!

Who Can Help?

It is not someone else's job to clean up and protect our lakes and ponds. We each have the capacity and the responsibility to take action ourselves.
Go Wetland Patrol!