Hydrology of lakes and wetlands

The existence of lakes and wetlands depends on the specific geologic setting that favors the ponding of water, and on the hydrologic processes that allow the body of water to persist at a given site. Lakes can occur only in topographic depressions, but wetlands occur in depressions, on flat areas, on slopes, and even on drainage divides. Lakes and wetlands have some common characteristics, but they differ in many aspects of water storage, water circulation, water loss to the atmosphere, and the thermal and chemical characteristics of their waters.