Lakes are geologically short-lived features, and sediments deposited in lakes (called lacustrine sediments) have constituted only a tiny fraction of the sedimentary rocks on Earth. Nevertheless, lake sediments are important sources of information about past climates. Several important economic resources—including oil shales, diatomaceous earth, salt and other evaporites, some limestones, and some coals—originate in lakes.

Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, 2022. 3p.

Lakes exist throughout many parts of the world in nearly every type of environment from forests to mountains and deserts. Though each lake is unique in size, depth, and salinity, or saltiness, the factor that unites most lakes is their rich biodiversity. Lakes are home to a multitude of plants and animals that depend on lakes for their survival. Because of this, lakes themselves have been classified as their own unique ecosystems.

Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2023. 3p.