Surfaces that were scoured by retreating ice and then flooded by Arctic seas are now dotted with millions of lakes, ponds, and streams.
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Most Canadian lakes are of glacial origin. Movements of the Earth's crust, ie, folding and faulting, can create basins later filled by lakes. Lake Superior has been formed by glacial and tectonic processes.
Thousands of years later, the landscape of Nunavut Territory—“our land” in the Inuktitut language—still shows the scars of that icy earth mover. Surfaces that were scoured by retreating ice and then flooded by Arctic seas are now dotted with millions of lakes, ponds, and streams.
During the last ice age, the mile-thick Laurentide ice sheet covered most of Canada and the northern contiguous United States. The massive weight and movement of this glacier gouged out the earth to form the lake basins.
It has been 'smoothed' by glaciers during recent ice-ages. These glaciers scraped it pretty clean, so the soil layer is extremely thin. The very same reasons that Minnesota has so many lakes and that the Great Lakes and the Great Salt Lake exist.
In fact Canada has the largest number of lakes in the whole world standing at 879,800 lakes. The Great Bear Lake is the largest freshwater lake of Canada that is solely within Canada and not shared with USA.
How did the Great Lakes get so deep? The Great Lakes are deep due to the heavy glaciers slowly moving north over time. The weight of these glaciers caused the now Great Lakes to become deeper as they moved.
Lakes abound in North America. Most of them are products of glaciation, which has had a vast effect on the continental drainage pattern—notably by widening the passes through the northern Appalachians and the Cordilleras and by forming big lakes in ice-deepened basins.
#6: New York Lakes (7,600)New York has over 7,600 freshwater lakes, including the Finger Lakes, a group of 11 long, narrow lakes that were carved by glaciers. The state's many lakes provide opportunities for fishing, boating, and water sports, and the Finger Lakes region is home to numerous wineries and vineyards.
As glacial meltwater carries sediments, it creates a suspension in the water, scattering light and causing it to appear blue. The combination of glacial milk and the reflective properties of the suspended rock flour particles results in lakes such as Lake Moraine and Lake Louise exibiting breathtaking shades of blue.
Glacial-fed alpine lakes in the Rocky Mountains are among the clearest in the world. Fine rock dust, produced by massive glaciers rubbing against bedrock, stays suspended in the water, reflecting light and creating the turquoise colours that Moraine Lake and Lake Louise are known for.
The largest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea. Although it is often considered a sea because of its size and salinity, it is technically classified as an endorheic lake. With a surface area of around 371,000 km², the Caspian Sea far exceeds any other lake in terms of size.
The Blue Lake, New ZealandScientists in 2011 found out that this is the clearest lake in the world. The waterbody is fed by another glacial lake, which is free of debris.