ABSTRACT
A body of water occupying a depression in the earth’s surface and which
is completely surrounded by land. Lakes are divided into four zones:
(1) the littoral zone extends from the shore to the deepest part which
has rooted plants; (2) the pelagic zone extends from the littoral zone to
the lake center; (3) the benthic, or profundal, zone is that part of the
lake where light does not penetrate and there is no photosynthetic
activity; and (4) the marginal zone is the immediate shoreline.
