Difference Wiki

Sea vs. Lake

Key Differences

Some lakes are considered as seas because early explorers had made confusion in the nomenclature.
A sea serves as a sources of water for smaller water bodies such as lagoons. On the other hand, lakes are formed from the freshwater supplied by rivers.
Seas are sub-versions of oceans but lakes are not sub-versions of rivers.
A lake is primarily a freshwater body while a sea possesses a large amount of salt in it.
Lakes do not have a permanent life span. They are formed but will eventually die out. Seas are part of the ocean and hence are constant.

Comparison Chart

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Seas are water bodies which are not enclosed in all the sides and are one of the most important aquatic structures on earth.
Lakes are water bodies which are enclosed in all sides and play a small role in the environmental; aspects of a particular place.
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Formation

Seas are not inland water bodies and are sources of other water bodies like lagoons which are salty and separated from the source by coral reefs or some other geographical structure.
Lakes are inland water bodies which are formed as rivers and are separated from the main source by landforms. They’re also formed when water gets deposited in a narrow low lying area in a sloping land whose height is comparatively less than that of its surrounding area.

Composition

Seas contain unfathomable diseases and are the home of thousands of organisms.
Lakes possess less depth and are home to a fewer number of organisms mostly fishes.

Classification

There are no classifications when it comes to seas; they’re either big or small.
Lakes are widely classified into various types depending on various source of water, on the basis of formation.
Aimie Carlson
Jul 07, 2018

Sources

Seas act as sources to many of the water bodies and usually get their water supply from rivers and rainwater.
Lakes are water bodies that mostly get their water from glaciers, rivers, seas, and rain.
Samantha Walker
Jul 07, 2018

Sea and Lake Definitions

Sea

The continuous body of salt water covering most of the earth's surface, especially this body regarded as a geophysical entity distinct from earth and sky.

Lake

A large inland body of fresh water or salt water.
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Sea

A tract of water within an ocean.

Lake

A scenic pond, as in a park.

Sea

A relatively large body of salt water completely or partially enclosed by land.

Lake

A large pool of liquid
A lake of spilled coffee on my desk.

Sea

A relatively large landlocked body of fresh water.

Lake

A pigment consisting of organic coloring matter with an inorganic, usually metallic base or carrier, used in dyes, inks, and paints.
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Sea

The condition of the ocean's surface with regard to its course, flow, swell, or turbulence
A rising sea.
Choppy seas.

Lake

A deep red.

Sea

A wave or swell, especially a large one
A 40-foot sea that broke over the stern.

Lake

A large, landlocked stretch of water or similar liquid.

Sea

Something that suggests the ocean in its overwhelming sweep or vastness
A sea of controversy.

Lake

A large amount of liquid; as, a wine lake.

Sea

Seafaring as a way of life.

Lake

A small stream of running water; a channel for water; a drain.

Sea

(Astronomy) A lunar mare.

Lake

(obsolete) A pit, or ditch.

Sea

A large body of salt water.

Lake

(obsolete) An offering, sacrifice, gift.

Sea

The ocean; the continuous body of salt water covering a majority of the Earth's surface.

Lake

(dialectal) Play; sport; game; fun; glee.

Sea

A body of salt water smaller than an ocean, generally forming part of, or connecting with, an ocean or a larger sea.
The Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Sea of Crete, etc.

Lake

(obsolete) A kind of fine, white linen.

Sea

A lake, especially if large or if salty or brackish.
The Caspian Sea, the Sea of Galilee, the Salton Sea, etc.

Lake

In dyeing and painting, an often fugitive crimson or vermillion pigment derived from an organic colorant (cochineal or madder, for example) and an inorganic, generally metallic mordant.

Sea

The swell of the sea; a single wave; billow.

Lake

In the composition of colors for use in products intended for human consumption, made by extending on a substratum of alumina, a salt prepared from one of the certified water-soluble straight colors.
The name of a lake prepared by extending the aluminum salt prepared from FD&C Blue No. 1 upon the substratum would be FD&C Blue No. 1--Aluminum Lake.

Sea

Living or used in or on the sea; of, near, or like the sea.
Seaman, sea gauge, sea monster, sea horse, sea level, seaworthy, seaport, seaboard, etc.

Lake

(obsolete) To present an offering.

Sea

(figurative) Anything resembling the vastness or turbulence of the sea.

Lake

To leap, jump, exert oneself, play.

Sea

(physics) A constant flux of gluons splitting into quarks, which annihilate to produce further gluons.

Lake

To make lake-red.

Sea

(planetology) A large, dark plain of rock; a mare.
The Apollo 11 mission landed in the Sea of Tranquility.

Lake

A pigment formed by combining some coloring matter, usually by precipitation, with a metallic oxide or earth, esp. with aluminium hydrate; as, madder lake; Florentine lake; yellow lake, etc.

Sea

(planetology) A very large lake of liquid hydrocarbon.

Lake

A kind of fine white linen, formerly in use.

Sea

One of the larger bodies of salt water, less than an ocean, found on the earth's surface; a body of salt water of second rank, generally forming part of, or connecting with, an ocean or a larger sea; as, the Mediterranean Sea; the Sea of Marmora; the North Sea; the Carribean Sea.

Lake

A large body of water contained in a depression of the earth's surface, and supplied from the drainage of a more or less extended area.

Sea

An inland body of water, esp. if large or if salt or brackish; as, the Caspian Sea; the Sea of Aral; sometimes, a small fresh-water lake; as, the Sea of Galilee.

Lake

To play; to sport.

Sea

The ocean; the whole body of the salt water which covers a large part of the globe.
I marvel how the fishes live in the sea.
Ambiguous between sea and landThe river horse and scaly crocodile.

Lake

A body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land

Sea

The swell of the ocean or other body of water in a high wind; motion or agitation of the water's surface; also, a single wave; a billow; as, there was a high sea after the storm; the vessel shipped a sea.

Lake

A purplish red pigment prepared from lac or cochineal

Sea

A great brazen laver in the temple at Jerusalem; - so called from its size.
He made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof.

Lake

Any of numerous bright translucent organic pigments

Sea

Fig.: Anything resembling the sea in vastness; as, a sea of glory.
All the space . . . was one sea of heads.

Sea

A division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land

Sea

Anything apparently limitless in quantity or volume

Sea

Turbulent water with swells of considerable size;
Heavy seas

Sea

Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on the sea or ships;
Sea stories
Sea smells
Sea traffic
Land vehicles

Sea vs. Lake

There is a very fine line of difference between a lake and a sea. They both are large water bodies, which is the one common factor between them. This also creates confusion, since the Caspian Sea is not a sea but a lake is often confused as such. A lake is a water body surrounded by land on all sides. They are a small living biological eco-system filled with fresh water. Whereas, a sea is composed of saltwater and is larger in size from a lake, surrounding land on most sides.

What is the Sea?

A sea is a large body of saltwater which is surrounded, by land on all sides. More broadly, “the sea” is an interconnected system of Earth’s salty, oceanic waters, which are derived from all sorts of sources like rain, meteoric water, etc. It is considered as one global ocean or as several oceanic divisions. The sea moderates the Earth’s climate and has important roles in the water cycle, carbon cycle, and nitrogen cycle. It is also concerned with the phenomenon regarding rainfall distribution, as breezes carrying moisture from the sea bring rainfall to the adjacent lands. The modern scientific study of the sea, oceanography arrived broadly after the British Challenger expedition of the 1870s. The sea is conventionally divided into five large oceanic sections. The International Hydrographic Organization’s named four oceans (the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic) of which the second-order sections, such as the Mediterranean, are known as seas.

What is Lake?

A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin that is surrounded by land. It is found far away from any river or other outlets that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes are water bodies, which lie on land and are not part of the ocean, therefore they are distinct from lagoons. They are also larger and deeper than ponds, though there are no official or scientific definitions of lakes. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. Most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams. The lakes are of two types, one whose water supply is usually provided by rivers and rainfall, and another whose water supply is provided by saline water, which is water from the seas. Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciations. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along with the courses of mature rivers.

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