A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water which has a concentration of salts (mostly sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water, but such lakes would also be termed hypersaline lakes. A salt lake that has a high content of sodium salts, especially chlorides and sulfates, is sometimes termed a soda lake.

Saline lake classification:^[1]

subsaline 0.5–3 ‰

hyposaline 3–20 ‰

mesosaline 20–50 ‰

hypersaline greater than 50 ‰

Properties[link]

Salt lakes form when the water flowing into the lake, containing salt or minerals, cannot leave because the lake is endorheic (terminal). The water then evaporates, leaving behind any dissolved salts and thus increasing its salinity, making a salt lake an excellent place for salt production. High salinity will also lead to a unique flora and fauna in the lake in question; sometimes, in fact, the result may be an absence or near absence of life near the salt lake.

If the amount of water flowing into a lake is less than the amount evaporated, the lake will eventually disappear and leave a dry lake (also called playa or salt flat).

References[link]

Salt

Brine being boiled down to produce salt at the Xinhai Well in Zigong, People's Republic of China

The salt works north of Pondicherry, India.

Salt, also known as table salt, or rock salt, is a crystalline mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts. It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess. Salt is one of the oldest, most ubiquitous food seasonings and salting is an important method of food preservation. The taste of salt (saltiness) is one of the basic human tastes.

Salt for human consumption is produced in different forms: unrefined salt (such as sea salt), refined salt (table salt), and iodized salt. It is a crystalline solid, white, pale pink or light gray in color, normally obtained from sea water or rock deposits. Edible rock salts may be slightly grayish in color because of mineral content.

Chloride and sodium ions, the two major components of salt, are needed by all known living creatures in small quantities. Salt is involved in regulating the water content (fluid balance) of the body. The sodium ion itself is used for electrical signaling in the nervous system.^[1] Because of its importance to survival, salt has often been considered a valuable commodity during human history. However, as salt consumption has increased during modern times, scientists have become aware of the health risks associated with too much salt intake, including high blood pressure. Therefore health authorities have recommended limitations of dietary sodium.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The United States Department of Health and Human Services recommends that individuals consume no more than 1500–2300 mg of sodium (3750–5750 mg of salt) per day depending on age.^[7]

Evaporation pans in the 'Salt Valley' of Añana, Spain

History[link]

Salt production in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt (1670)

Sea salt harvesting in Pak Thale, Phetchaburi, Thailand

While people have used canning and artificial refrigeration to preserve food for the last hundred years or so, salt has been the best-known food preservative, especially for meat, for many thousands of years.^[8] A very ancient saltworks operation has been discovered at the Poiana Slatinei archaeological site next to a salt spring in Lunca, Neamţ County, Romania. Evidence indicates that Neolithic people of the Precucuteni Culture were boiling the salt-laden spring water through the process of briquetage to extract the salt as far back as 6050 BC.^[9] The salt extracted from this operation may have had a direct correlation to the rapid growth of this society's population soon after its initial production began.^[10] The harvest of salt from the surface of Xiechi Lake near Yuncheng in Shanxi, China dates back to at least 6000 BC, making it one of the oldest verifiable saltworks.^[11]:18–19

Salt was included among funereal offerings found in ancient Egyptian tombs from the third millennium BC, as were salted birds and salt fish.^[11]:38 From about 2800 BC, the Egyptians began exporting salt fish to the Phoenicians in return for Lebanon cedar, glass, and the dye Tyrian purple; the Phoenicians traded Egyptian salt fish and salt from North Africa throughout their Mediterranean trade empire.^[11]:44

Along the Sahara, the Tuareg maintain routes especially for the transport of salt by Azalai (salt caravans). In 1960, the caravans still transported some 15,000 tons of salt, but this trade has now declined to roughly a third of this figure.^[12]

Salzburg, Hallstatt, and Hallein lie on the river Salzach in central Austria, within a radius of no more than 17 kilometres. Salzach literally means "salt water" and Salzburg "salt city", both taking their names from the German word for salt, Salz.

Hallstatt gave its name to the Celtic archaeological culture that began mining for salt in the area in around 800 BC. Around 400 BC, the Hallstatt Celts, who had heretofore mined for salt, began open pan salt making. During the first millennium BC, Celtic communities grew rich trading salt and salted meat to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in exchange for wine and other luxuries.^[8]

The word salary originates from Latin: salarium which referred to the money paid to the Roman Army's soldiers for the purchase of salt.^[13][14][15] The word salad literally means "salted," and comes from the ancient Roman practice of salting leaf vegetables.^[11]:64

Mahatma Gandhi led at least 100,000 people on the "Dandi March" or "Salt Satyagraha", in which protesters made their own salt from the sea, which was illegal under British rule, as it avoided paying the "salt tax". This civil disobedience inspired millions of common people, and elevated the Indian independence movement from an elitist struggle to a national struggle.

Forms of salt[link]

Unrefined salt[link]

Different natural salts have different mineralities, giving each one a unique flavor. Fleur de sel, a natural sea salt from the surface of evaporating brine in salt pans, has a unique flavor varying from region to region. In traditional Korean cuisine, so-called "bamboo salt" is prepared by roasting salt^[16] in a bamboo container plugged with mud at both ends. This product absorbs minerals from the bamboo and the mud, and has been shown to increase the anticlastogenic and antimutagenic properties of doenjang.^[17]

Completely raw sea salt is bitter because of magnesium and calcium compounds, and thus is rarely eaten.^{[citation needed]} The refined salt industry cites scientific studies saying that raw sea and rock salts do not contain enough iodine salts to prevent iodine deficiency diseases.^[18]

Unrefined sea salts are also commonly used as ingredients in bathing additives and cosmetic products. One example is bath salts, which uses sea salt as its main ingredient and combined with other ingredients is used for its alleged healing and therapeutic effects.^{[citation needed]}

Refined salt[link]

Salt mounds in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Refined salt, which is most widely used presently, is mainly sodium chloride. Food grade salt accounts for only a small part of salt production in industrialized countries (3% in Europe^[19]) although worldwide, food uses account for 17.5% of salt production.^[20] The majority is sold for industrial use. Salt has great commercial value because it is a necessary ingredient in many manufacturing processes. A few common examples include: the production of pulp and paper, setting dyes in textiles and fabrics, and the making of soaps and detergents.

The manufacture and use of salt is one of the oldest chemical industries.^[21] Salt can be obtained by evaporation of sea water, usually in shallow basins warmed by sunlight;^[22] salt so obtained was formerly called bay salt, and is now often called sea salt or solar salt. Rock salt deposits are formed by the evaporation of ancient salt lakes,^[23] and may be mined conventionally or through the injection of water. Injected water dissolves the salt, and the brine solution can be pumped to the surface where the salt is collected.

Jagged salt pinnacles at the Devil's Golf Course in Death Valley National Park, US

Close-up view of salt crystals at Devil's Golf Course

After the raw salt is obtained, it is refined to purify it and improve its storage and handling characteristics. Purification usually involves recrystallization. In recrystallization, a brine solution is treated with chemicals that precipitate most impurities (largely magnesium and calcium salts).^[24] Multiple stages of evaporation are then used to collect pure sodium chloride crystals, which are kiln-dried.

Table salt[link]

In Western cuisines, salt is used in cooking, and also made available to diners in salt shakers on the table.

Table salt is refined salt, which contains about 97% to 99% sodium chloride.^[25][26][27] It usually contains substances that make it free-flowing (anticaking agents) such as sodium silicoaluminate or magnesium carbonate. Some people also add a desiccant, such as a few grains of uncooked rice,^[28] or a saltine cracker^[29] in salt shakers to absorb extra moisture and help break up clumps when anticaking agents are not enough. Table salt has a particle density of 2.165 g/cm³, and a bulk density (dry, ASTM D 632 gradation) of about 1.154 g/cm³.^[30]

Additives in table salt[link]

Most table salt sold for consumption contains a variety of additives, which address a variety of health concerns, especially in the developing world. The amounts of additives vary widely from country to country.

Iodine and iodide[link]

Iodine-containing compounds are added to table salt. Iodized salt is thus table salt mixed with a minute amount of potassium iodide, sodium iodide, or sodium iodate. A small amount of dextrose may also be added to stabilize the iodine.^[31]

Iodized salt is used to help reduce the incidence of iodine deficiency in humans. Iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation.^[32] The practice began in 1924.^[33]Iodine deficiency commonly leads to thyroid gland problems, specifically endemic goiter, a disease characterized by a swelling of the thyroid gland, usually resulting in a bulbous protrusion on the neck. Iodized table salt has significantly reduced disorders of iodine deficiency in countries where it is used.^[34] Iodine is important to prevent the insufficient production of thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism), which can cause goiter, cretinism in children, and myxedema in adults.

The amount of iodine and the specific iodine compound added to salt varies from country to country. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration recommends [21 CFR 101.9 (c)(8)(iv)] 150 micrograms of iodine per day for both men and women. US iodized salt contains 46–77 ppm (parts per million), whereas in the UK the iodine content of iodized salt is recommended to be 10–22 ppm.^[35] Today, iodized salt is more common in the United States, Australia and New Zealand than in the United Kingdom.

Fluoride[link]

Especially in countries that have not benefited from fluoridated toothpastes and fluoridated water, fluoride salts are added to table salt. The practice is more common in some European countries, where water fluoridation is not practiced. In France, 35% of sold table salt contains sodium fluoride.^[36]

Anti-caking agents[link]

Sodium ferrocyanide, also known as yellow prussiate of soda, is sometimes added to salt as an anticaking agent. The additive is considered safe for human consumption.^[37][38] Such anti-caking agents have been added since at least 1911 when magnesium carbonate was first added to salt to make it flow more freely.^[39][40] The safety of sodium ferrocyanide as a food additive was found to be provisionally acceptable by the Committee on Toxicity in 1988.^[37] Some other anticaking agents include tricalcium phosphate, calcium or magnesium carbonates, fatty acid salts (acid salts), magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, calcium silicate, sodium aluminosilicate, and calcium aluminosilicate. Both the European Union and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted the use of aluminum in the latter two compounds.^[41]

Iron[link]

In "doubly fortified salt", both iodide and iron salts are added. This additive alleviates iron deficiency anemia, which interferes with the mental development of an estimated 40% of infants in the developing world. A typical iron source is ferrous fumarate.^[36]

Other additives[link]

Another additive, especially important for pregnant women, is folic acid (vitamin B₉), which gives the table salt a yellow color. Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects (NTDs) and anemia, which affect young mothers, especially in developing countries.^[36]

In Canada, at least one brand (Windsor Salt) contains inverted sugar syrup.^{[citation needed]}

Salty condiments[link]

In many East Asian cultures, salt is not traditionally used as a condiment.^[42] In its place, condiments such as soy sauce, fish sauce and oyster sauce tend to have a high sodium content and fill a similar role to table salt in western cultures. They are most often used for cooking rather than as table condiments.

Health effects[link]

Acute effects[link]

Too much or too little salt in the diet can lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, or electrolyte disturbance, which can cause neurological problems, or death.^[43] Drinking too much water, with insufficient salt intake, puts a person at risk of water intoxication (hyponatremia). Salt is sometimes used as a health aid, such as in treatment of dysautonomia.^[44]

Death can occur by ingestion of large amounts of salt in a short time (about 1 g per kg of body weight).^[45] Deaths have also resulted from attempted use of salt solutions as emetics, forced salt intake, and accidental confusion of salt with sugar in child food.^[46]

Long-term effects[link]

The effect of salt consumption on long term health outcomes is controversial.^[47] The effects of salt reduction appears to have an unclear effect on mortality^[48] and its effect on morbidity is contentious.^[47][49]

Some associations include:

• Stroke and cardiovascular disease.^[50]
• High blood pressure: Evidence shows an association between salt intakes and blood pressure among different populations and age range in adults.^[51] Reduced salt intake also results in a small reduction in blood pressure.^[47]
• Left ventricular hypertrophy (cardiac enlargement): "Evidence suggests that high salt intake causes left ventricular hypertrophy, a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease, independently of blood pressure effects."^[51] "...there is accumulating evidence that high salt intake predicts left ventricular hypertrophy."^[52] Excessive salt (sodium) intake, combined with an inadequate intake of water, can cause hypernatremia. It can exacerbate renal disease.^[43]
• Edema: A decrease in salt intake has been suggested to treat edema (fluid retention).^[43][53]
• Stomach cancer is associated with high levels of sodium, "but the evidence does not generally relate to foods typically consumed in the UK."^[54] However, in Japan, salt consumption is higher.^[55]

The Cochrane Collaboration found that "a modest and long term reduction in population salt intake [...] would result in a lower population blood pressure, and a reduction in strokes, heart attacks and heart failure. Furthermore, our study is consistent with the fact that the lower the salt intake, the lower the blood pressure."^[56] Some isolated cultures, such as the Yanomami in South America, have been found to consume little salt and are still capable of regular activity. This may indicate an adaptation of humans to low levels of sodium that originated in the predominantly vegetarian diet of human primate ancestors.^[57]

In 1994, the British Medical Journal published a randomized double blind placebo controlled study examining 100 Dutch middle-aged and elderly subjects with mild to moderate hypertension. A low sodium, high potassium, high magnesium mineral salt was used at the table and in foods given to the intervention group, with the control group ordinary table salt in their foods and at the table. Over a 24-week period, the researchers found a reduced blood pressure in the intervention group, with mean blood pressure falling by 7.6 mm Hg (systolic) and 3.3 mm Hg (diastolic) in the mineral salt group compared with the control group.^[58] However, critics have pointed out that it is possible that some of the subjects may have changed their dietary habits due to many of them being able to distinguish the mineral salt from table salt due to their different taste.^[59]

According to The Mayo Clinic and Australian Professor Bruce Neal, the health consequences of ingesting sea salt or regular table salt are the same, as the content of sea salt is still mainly sodium chloride.^[60][61]

In traditional Korean cuisine, juk-yeom (죽염, 竹鹽), which means "bamboo salt", is prepared by roasting salt at temperatures between 800 and 2000 °C^[16] in a bamboo container plugged with mud at both ends. This product absorbs minerals from the bamboo and the mud, and has been shown to increase the anticlastogenic and antimutagenic properties of the fermented soybean paste known in Korea as doenjang.^[17]

A salt mill for sea salt.

Pathophysiology[link]

Sodium is one of the primary electrolytes in the body.

Recommended intake[link]

Recommended intakes of salt are usually expressed in terms of sodium intake. Salt (as sodium chloride) contains 39.3% of sodium by weight.

A 2009 meta-analysis found that the sodium consumption of 19,151 individuals from 33 countries fit into the narrow range of 2,700 to 4,900 mg/day. The small range across many cultures, together with animal studies, suggest that sodium intake is tightly controlled by feedback loops in the body, making recommendations to reduce sodium consumption below 2,700 mg/day potentially futile.^[68]

Labeling[link]

UK: The Food Standards Agency defines the level of salt in foods as follows: "High is more than 1.5 g salt per 100 g (or 0.6 g sodium). Low is 0.3 g salt or less per 100 g (or 0.1 g sodium). If the amount of salt per 100 g is in between these figures, then that is a medium level of salt." In the UK, foods produced by some supermarkets and manufacturers have ‘traffic light’ colors on the front of the pack: Red (High), Amber (Medium), or Green (Low).^[69]

USA: The FDA Food Labeling Guide stipulates whether a food can be labeled as "free." "low," or "reduced/less" in respect of sodium. When other health claims are made about a food (e.g., low in fat, calories, etc.), a disclosure statement is required if the food exceeds 480 mg of sodium per 'serving.'^[70]

Campaigns[link]

In 2004, Britain's Food Standards Agency started a public health campaign called "Salt – Watch it", which recommends no more than 6g of salt per day; it features a character called Sid the Slug and was criticised by the Salt Manufacturers Association (SMA).^[71] The Advertising Standards Authority did not uphold the SMA complaint in its adjudication.^[72] In March 2007, the FSA launched the third phase of their campaign with the slogan "Salt. Is your food full of it?" fronted by comedienne Jenny Eclair.^[73]

The University of Tasmania's Menzies Research Institute maintains a website^[74] to educate people about the problems of a salt-laden diet.

Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH)^[75] established in 1996, actively campaigns to raise awareness of the harmful health effects of salt. The 2008 focus includes raising awareness of high levels of salt hidden in sweet foods and marketed towards children.^[76]

In January 2010, New York City launched the National Salt Reduction Initiative, modeled after an initiative in the United Kingdom. The campaign calls on food makers to voluntarily reduce the amount of sodium in their foods, from 20% in peanut butter to a 40% reduction in canned vegetables, with an overall goal of reducing sodium in packaged and restaurant foods by 25% by 2015.^[77]

A number of major food producers have pledged to reduce the sodium content of their food. Pepsi is developing a “designer salt” that’s slightly more powdery than the salt it regularly uses. The company hopes this new form of salt will cut sodium levels by 25% in its Lay’s potato chips.^[78] Nestlé's prepared foods company, which produces frozen meals, announced that it will reduce sodium in its foods by 10% by 2015.^[79] General Mills announced that it will reduce the sodium content of 40% of its foods by about 20% by 2015.^[80]

Taxation of sodium has been proposed as a method of decreasing sodium intake and thereby improving health in countries like the United States where typical salt consumption is high.^[81][82]

The Salt Institute, a salt industry body, is active in promoting the use of salt,^[83] and questioning or opposing restrictions on salt intake.^[84]

Lowering salt in diet[link]

A low sodium diet reduces intake of sodium by selection of food and potentially by use of salt substitutes. Sea salt has the same sodium content as table salt.^{[60][85][86][dead link]}

Production[link]

Global salt output in 2005

Salt is produced by evaporation of seawater or brine from other sources, such as brine wells and salt lakes, and by mining rock salt, called halite.

In 2002, total world production (of sodium chloride in general, not just table salt) was estimated at 210 million tonnes, the top five producers being the United States (40.3 million tonnes), China (32.9), Germany (17.7), India (14.5), and Canada (12.3).^[87]

Non-dietary uses and occurrences[link]

Apart from its use in table salt in the diet, sodium chloride is a major industrial chemical. It occurs widely, being the main saline component of the oceans, and plays a role in formation of clouds.

Usage in religion[link]

The Dead Sea is said to be the site of Sodom and Gomorrah. The salt concentration in it is so high that it allows the body to float easily with no effort at all

In the Hebrew Bible, thirty-five verses mention salt,^[88] one of which being the story of Lot's wife, who, according to the legend, was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:26) as they were destroyed. When King Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, he is said to have "sown salt on it," probably as a curse on anyone who would re-inhabit it. (Judges 9:45) The Book of Job contains the first mention of salt as a condiment. "Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (Job 6:6)

In the Christian New Testament, six verses mention salt. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to his followers as the "salt of the earth". The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6).

In one of the Hadith recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah, Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said that: "Salt is the master of your food. God sent down four blessings from the sky – fire, water, iron and salt"

Salt is mandatory in the rite of the Tridentine Mass.^[89] Salt is used in the third item (which includes an Exorcism) of the Celtic Consecration (cf. Gallican Rite) that is employed in the consecration of a church. Salt may be added to the water "where it is customary" in the Roman Catholic rite of Holy water.

Salt is considered to be a very auspicious substance in Hinduism, and is used in particular religious ceremonies like housewarmings and weddings. In Jainism, devotees offer raw rice and a pinch of salt before a deity to signify their devotion.

In Judaism, it is recommended to have either a salty bread or to add salt to the bread if this bread is unsalted when doing Kiddush for Shabbat. It is customary to spread some salt over the bread or to dip the bread in a little salt when passing the bread around the table after the Kiddush.^[90] To preserve the covenant between their people and God, Jews dip the Sabbath bread in salt.^[91]

In Wicca, salt is symbolic of the element Earth. It is also believed to cleanse an area of harmful or negative energies. A dish of salt and a dish of water are almost always present on an altar. The salt is mixed with the water to consecrate it, in effect producing holy water. This mixture is used in a wide variety of rituals and ceremonies.

In the native Japanese religion Shinto, salt is used for ritual purification of locations and people (harae, specifically shubatsu), such as in sumo wrestling, and small piles of salt called morijio (盛り塩^?, pile of salt) or shiobana (塩花^?, salt flowers) are placed in dishes by the entrance of establishments for the two-fold purposes of warding off evil and attracting patrons.^[92]

In Aztec mythology, Huixtocihuatl was a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water.

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans invoked their gods with offerings of salt and water. Some think this to be the origin of Holy Water in the Christian faith.^[91]

See also[link]

Ship loading salt at a terminal in the Port of Areia Branca, Brazil

• Alberger process
• Black salt (disambiguation)
• Curing (food preservation)
• Health Canada Sodium Working Group

• INTERSALT study
• Kosher salt
• Salt equivalent
• Salt Road
• Smoked salt
• Sodium controversy

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Barber, Elizabeth Wayland (1999). The Mummies of Ürümchi. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-32019-7. OCLC 48426519. 
• Kurlansky, Mark (2002). Salt: A World History. New York: Walker & Co. ISBN 0-8027-1373-4. OCLC 48573453. 
• Carusi, Cristina, Il sale nel mondo greco, VI a.C.-III d.C.: luoghi di produzione, circolazione commerciale, regimi di sfruttamento nel contesto del Mediterraneo antico (Bari: Edipuglia, 2008) (Pragmateiai; 15).

Further reading[link]

• Alden, Lori (2005). "Salt". The Cook's Thesaurus. http://www.foodsubs.com/Salt.html. 
• Cowen, Richard (May 1999). "The Importance of Salt". Department of Geology. UC Davis. http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~gel115/salt.html. 
• Zacharias, Patricia (23 January 2000). "The ghostly salt city beneath Detroit". The Detroit News. http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=17. 

External links[link]

Find more about Salt on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders
• Salt Institute

lez:Кьел

Oeschinen Lake in the Swiss Alps

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land apart from a river, stream, or other form of moving water that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds.^[1][2] Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. However most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.

Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.

Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydro-electric power generation or domestic water supply, or for aesthetic or recreational purposes.

Etymology, meaning, and usage of "lake"[link]

Lake Tahoe on the border of California and Nevada

The Caspian Sea is either the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea.^[3]

The word lake comes from Middle English lake ("lake, pond, waterway"), from Old English lacu ("pond, pool, stream"), from Proto-Germanic *lakō ("pond, ditch, slow moving stream"), from the Proto-Indo-European root *leg'- ("to leak, drain"). Cognates include Dutch laak ("lake, pond, ditch"), Middle Low German lāke ("water pooled in a riverbed, puddle"), German Lache ("pool, puddle"), and Icelandic lækur ("slow flowing stream"). Also related are the English words leak and leach.

There is considerable uncertainty about defining the difference between lakes and ponds, and no current internationally accepted definition of either term across scientific disciplines or political boundaries exists.^{[citation needed]} For example, limnologists have defined lakes as water bodies which are simply a larger version of a pond, which can have wave action on the shoreline or where wind-induced turbulence plays a major role in mixing the water column. None of these definitions completely excludes ponds and all are difficult to measure. For this reason there has been increasing use made of simple size-based definitions to separate ponds and lakes. One definition of lake is a body of water of 2 hectares (5 acres) or more in area,^[4]:331[5] however others^[who?] have defined lakes as waterbodies of 5 hectares (12 acres) and above,^{[citation needed]} or 8 hectares (20 acres) and above^{[citation needed]} (see also the definition of "pond"). Charles Elton, one of the founders of ecology, regarded lakes as waterbodies of 40 hectares (99 acres) or more.^[6] The term lake is also used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre, which is a dry basin most of the time but may become filled under seasonal conditions of heavy rainfall. In common usage many lakes bear names ending with the word pond, and a lesser number of names ending with lake are in quasi-technical fact, ponds.

In lake ecology the environment of a lake is referred to as lacustrine. Large lakes are occasionally referred to as "inland seas," and small seas are occasionally referred to as lakes, such as Lake Maracaibo, which is actually a bay.

Distribution of lakes[link]

The Seven Rila Lakes are a group of glacial lakes in the Bulgarian Rila mountains.

Wayanad District Kerala India

The majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. Canada, with a deranged drainage system has an estimated 63,504 lakes.^[7] Finland has 187,888 lakes of which 60,000 are large.^[8]

Most lakes have at least one natural outflow in the form of a river or stream, which maintain a lake's average level by allowing the drainage of excess water.^[9] Some lakes do not have a natural outflow and lose water solely by evaporation or underground seepage or both. They are termed endorheic lakes.

Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for hydro-electric power generation, aesthetic purposes, recreational purposes, industrial use, agricultural use or domestic water supply.

Evidence of extraterrestrial lakes exists; "definitive evidence of lakes filled with methane" was announced by NASA^{[citation needed]} as returned by the Cassini Probe observing the moon Titan, which orbits the planet Saturn.

Globally, lakes are greatly outnumbered by ponds: of an estimated 304-million standing water bodies worldwide, 91 percent are 1 hectare (2.5 acres) or less in area (see definition of ponds).^[10] Small lakes are also much more numerous than large lakes: in terms of area, one-third of the world's standing water is represented by lakes and ponds of 10 hectares (25 acres) or less.^{[citation needed]} However, large lakes account for much of the area of standing water with 122 large lakes of 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi, 100,000 ha, 247,000 acres) or more representing about 29 percent of the total global area of standing inland water.^{[citation needed]}

Origin of natural lakes[link]

A portion of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, United States

Salt crystals, on the shore of Lake Urmia, Iran

There are a number of natural processes that can form lakes. A recent tectonic uplift of a mountain range can create bowl-shaped depressions that accumulate water and form lakes. The advance and retreat of glaciers can scrape depressions in the surface where water accumulates; such lakes are common in Scandinavia, Patagonia, Siberia and Canada. The most notable examples are probably the Great Lakes of North America.

Lakes can also form by means of landslides or by glacial blockages. An example of the latter occurred during the last ice age in the U.S. state of Washington, when a huge lake formed behind a glacial flow; when the ice retreated, the result was an immense flood that created the Dry Falls at Sun Lakes, Washington.

Salt lakes (also called saline lakes) can form where there is no natural outlet or where the water evaporates rapidly and the drainage surface of the water table has a higher-than-normal salt content. Examples of salt lakes include Great Salt Lake, the Aral Sea and the Dead Sea.

Small, crescent-shaped lakes called oxbow lakes can form in river valleys as a result of meandering. The slow-moving river forms a sinuous shape as the outer side of bends are eroded away more rapidly than the inner side. Eventually a horseshoe bend is formed and the river cuts through the narrow neck. This new passage then forms the main passage for the river and the ends of the bend become silted up, thus forming a bow-shaped lake.

Crater lakes are formed in volcanic craters and calderas which fill up with precipitation more rapidly than they empty via evaporation. Sometimes the latter are called caldera lakes, although often no distinction is made. An example is Crater Lake in Oregon, located within the caldera of Mount Mazama. The caldera was created in a massive volcanic eruption that led to the subsidence of Mount Mazama around 4860 BC.

Gloe Lakes are freshwater lakes that have emerged when the water they consists of has been separated, not considerably long before, from the sea as a consequence of post-glacial rebound.

Some lakes, such as Lake Jackson in Florida, USA, come into existence as a result of sinkhole activity.

Lake Vostok is a subglacial lake in Antarctica, possibly the largest in the world. The pressure from the ice atop it and its internal chemical composition mean that, if the lake were drilled into, a fissure could result that would spray somewhat like a geyser.

Most lakes are geologically young and shrinking since the natural results of erosion will tend to wear away the sides and fill the basin. Exceptions are those such as Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika that lie along continental rift zones and are created by the crust's subsidence as two plates are pulled apart. These lakes are the oldest and deepest in the world. Lake Baikal, which is 25-30 million years old, is deepening at a faster rate than it is being filled by erosion and may be destined over millions of years to become attached to the global ocean. The Red Sea, for example, is thought to have originated as a rift valley lake.

Types of lakes[link]

Many lakes can have tremendous cultural importance. The West Lake of Hangzhou has inspired romantic poets throughout the ages, and has been an important influence on garden designs in China, Japan and Korea.^[11]

One of the many artificial lakes in Arizona at sunset.

The crater lake of Volcán Irazú, Costa Rica.

These kettle lakes in Alaska were formed by a retreating glacier.

Ephemeral 'Lake Badwater', a lake only noted after heavy winter and spring rainfall, Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park.

• Periglacial lake: Part of the lake's margin is formed by an ice sheet, ice cap or glacier, the ice having obstructed the natural drainage of the land.
• Subglacial lake: A lake which is permanently covered by ice. They can occur under glaciers, ice caps or ice sheets. There are many such lakes, but Lake Vostok in Antarctica is by far the largest. They are kept liquid because the overlying ice acts as a thermal insulator retaining energy introduced to its underside by friction, by water percolating through crevasses, by the pressure from the mass of the ice sheet above or by geothermal heating below.
• Glacial lake: a lake with origins in a melted glacier, such as a kettle lake.
• Artificial lake: A lake created by flooding land behind a dam, called an impoundment or reservoir, by deliberate human excavation, or by the flooding of an excavation incident to a mineral-extraction operation such as an open pit mine or quarry. Some of the world's largest lakes are reservoirs like Hirakud Dam in India.
• Endorheic lake, terminal or closed: A lake which has no significant outflow, either through rivers or underground diffusion. Any water within an endorheic basin leaves the system only through evaporation or seepage. These lakes, such as Lake Eyre in central Australia or the Aral Sea in central Asia, are most common in desert locations.
• Meromictic lake: A lake which has layers of water which do not intermix. The deepest layer of water in such a lake does not contain any dissolved oxygen. The layers of sediment at the bottom of a meromictic lake remain relatively undisturbed because there are no living aerobic organisms.
• Fjord lake: A lake in a glacially eroded valley that has been eroded below sea level.
• Oxbow lake: A lake which is formed when a wide meander from a stream or a river is cut off to form a lake. They are called "oxbow" lakes due to the distinctive curved shape that results from this process.
• Rift lake or sag pond: A lake which forms as a result of subsidence along a geological fault in the Earth's tectonic plates. Examples include the Rift Valley lakes of eastern Africa and Lake Baikal in Siberia.
• Underground lake: A lake which is formed under the surface of the Earth's crust. Such a lake may be associated with caves, aquifers or springs.
• Crater lake: A lake which forms in a volcanic caldera or crater after the volcano has been inactive for some time. Water in this type of lake may be fresh or highly acidic, and may contain various dissolved minerals. Some also have geothermal activity, especially if the volcano is merely dormant rather than extinct.
• Lava lake: A pool of molten lava contained in a volcanic crater or other depression. Lava lakes that have partly or completely solidified are also referred to as lava lakes.
• Former: A lake which is no longer in existence. Such lakes include prehistoric lakes and lakes which have permanently dried up through evaporation or human intervention. Owens Lake in California, USA, is an example of a former lake. Former lakes are a common feature of the Basin and Range area of southwestern North America.
• Ephemeral lake, intermittent lake, or seasonal lake: A seasonal lake that exists as a body of water during only part of the year.
• Shrunken: Closely related to former lakes, a shrunken lake is one which has drastically decreased in size over geological time. Lake Agassiz, which once covered much of central North America, is a good example of a shrunken lake. Two notable remnants of this lake are Lake Winnipeg and Lake Winnipegosis.
• Eolic lake: A lake which forms in a depression created by the activity of the winds.
• Vlei, in South Africa, shallow lakes which vary considerably with seasons.
• Epitshelf Lakes, unique lakes which exist on top of a dense saltwater body and are surrounded by ice. These are mostly found in the Arctic.

Characteristics[link]

Lake Päijänne is one of tens of thousands of lakes in Finnish Lakeland.

Lake Mapourika, New Zealand

Lakes have numerous features in addition to lake type, such as drainage basin (also known as catchment area), inflow and outflow, nutrient content, dissolved oxygen, pollutants, pH, and sedimentation.

Changes in the level of a lake are controlled by the difference between the input and output compared to the total volume of the lake. Significant input sources are precipitation onto the lake, runoff carried by streams and channels from the lake's catchment area, groundwater channels and aquifers, and artificial sources from outside the catchment area. Output sources are evaporation from the lake, surface and groundwater flows, and any extraction of lake water by humans. As climate conditions and human water requirements vary, these will create fluctuations in the lake level.

Lakes can be also categorized on the basis of their richness in nutrients, which typically affect plant growth. Nutrient-poor lakes are said to be oligotrophic and are generally clear, having a low concentration of plant life. Mesotrophic lakes have good clarity and an average level of nutrients. Eutrophic lakes are enriched with nutrients, resulting in good plant growth and possible algal blooms. Hypertrophic lakes are bodies of water that have been excessively enriched with nutrients. These lakes typically have poor clarity and are subject to devastating algal blooms. Lakes typically reach this condition due to human activities, such as heavy use of fertilizers in the lake catchment area. Such lakes are of little use to humans and have a poor ecosystem due to decreased dissolved oxygen.

Due to the unusual relationship between water's temperature and its density, lakes form layers called thermoclines, layers of drastically varying temperature relative to depth. Fresh water is most dense at about 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 °F) at sea level. When the temperature of the water at the surface of a lake reaches the same temperature as deeper water, as it does during the cooler months in temperate climates, the water in the lake can mix, bringing oxygen-starved water up from the depths and bringing oxygen down to decomposing sediments. Deep temperate lakes can maintain a reservoir of cold water year-round, which allows some cities to tap that reservoir for deep lake water cooling.

Lake Teletskoye, Siberia

Since the surface water of deep tropical lakes never reaches the temperature of maximum density, there is no process that makes the water mix. The deeper layer becomes oxygen starved and can become saturated with carbon dioxide, or other gases such as sulfur dioxide if there is even a trace of volcanic activity. Exceptional events, such as earthquakes or landslides, can cause mixing which rapidly brings the deep layers up to the surface and release a vast cloud of gas which lay trapped in solution in the colder water at the bottom of the lake. This is called a limnic eruption. An example is the disaster at Lake Nyos in Cameroon. The amount of gas that can be dissolved in water is directly related to pressure. As deep water surfaces, the pressure drops and a vast amount of gas comes out of solution. Under these circumstances carbon dioxide is hazardous because it is heavier than air and displaces it, so it may flow down a river valley to human settlements and cause mass asphyxiation.

The material at the bottom of a lake, or lake bed, may be composed of a wide variety of inorganics, such as silt or sand, and organic material, such as decaying plant or animal matter. The composition of the lake bed has a significant impact on the flora and fauna found within the lake's environs by contributing to the amounts and the types of nutrients available.

A paired (black and white) layer of the varved lake sediments correspond to a year. During winter, when organisms die, carbon is deposited down, resulting to a black layer. At the same year, during summer, only few organic materials are deposited, resulting to a white layer at the lake bed. These are commonly used to track past paleontological events.

Limnology[link]

Lake Billy Chinook, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon.

Lake Cugun, Kirsehir, Turkey.

Limnology is the study of inland bodies of water and related ecosystems. Limnology divides lakes into three zones: the littoral zone, a sloped area close to land; the photic or open-water zone, where sunlight is abundant; and the deep-water profundal or benthic zone, where little sunlight can reach. The depth to which light can reach in lakes depends on turbidity, determined by the density and size of suspended particles. A particle is in suspension if its weight is less than the random turbidity forces acting upon it. These particles can be sedimentary or biological in origin and are responsible for the color of the water. Decaying plant matter, for instance, may be responsible for a yellow or brown color, while algae may cause greenish water. In very shallow water bodies, iron oxides make water reddish brown. Biological particles include algae and detritus. Bottom-dwelling detritivorous fish can be responsible for turbid waters, because they stir the mud in search of food. Piscivorous fish contribute to turbidity by eating plant-eating (planktonivorous) fish, thus increasing the amount of algae (see aquatic trophic cascade). The light depth or transparency is measured by using a Secchi disk, a 20-cm (8 in) disk with alternating white and black quadrants. The depth at which the disk is no longer visible is the Secchi depth, a measure of transparency. The Secchi disk is commonly used to test for eutrophication. For a detailed look at these processes, see lentic ecosystems.

A lake moderates the surrounding region's temperature and climate because water has a very high specific heat capacity (4,186 J·kg⁻¹·K⁻¹). In the daytime a lake can cool the land beside it with local winds, resulting in a sea breeze; in the night it can warm it with a land breeze.

How lakes disappear[link]

Lake Chad in a 2001 satellite image, with the actual lake in blue, and vegetation on top of the old lake bed in green.

Lake Badwater, February 9, 2005. Landsat 5 satellite photo.

Badwater Basin dry lake, February 15, 2007. Landsat 5 satellite photo.

The lake may be infilled with deposited sediment and gradually become a wetland such as a swamp or marsh. Large water plants, typically totos, accelerate this closing process significantly because they partially decompose to form peat soils that fill the shallows. Conversely, peat soils in a marsh can naturally burn and reverse this process to recreate a shallow lake. Turbid lakes and lakes with many plant-eating fish tend to disappear more slowly. A "disappearing" lake (barely noticeable on a human timescale) typically has extensive plant mats at the water's edge. These become a new habitat for other plants, like peat moss when conditions are right, and animals, many of which are very rare. Gradually the lake closes and young peat may form, forming a fen. In lowland river valleys where a river can meander, the presence of peat is explained by the infilling of historical oxbow lakes. In the very last stages of succession, trees can grow in, eventually turning the wetland into a forest.

Some lakes can disappear seasonally. These are called intermittent lakes, ephemeral lakes, or seasonal lakes and can be found in karstic terrain. A prime example of an intermittent lake is Lake Cerknica in Slovenia or Lag Prau Pulte in Graubünden. Other intermittent lakes are only the result of above-average precipitation in a closed, or endorheic basin, usually filling dry lake beds. This can occur in some of the driest places on earth, like Death Valley. This occurred in the spring of 2005, after unusually heavy rains.^[12] The lake did not last into the summer, and was quickly evaporated (see photos to right). A more commonly filled lake of this type is Sevier Lake of west-central Utah.

Sometimes a lake will disappear quickly. On 3 June 2005, in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, a lake called Lake Beloye vanished in a matter of minutes. News sources reported that government officials theorized that this strange phenomenon may have been caused by a shift in the soil underneath the lake that allowed its water to drain through channels leading to the Oka River.^[13]

The presence of ground permafrost is important to the persistence of some lakes. According to research published in the journal Science ("Disappearing Arctic Lakes", June 2005), thawing permafrost may explain the shrinking or disappearance of hundreds of large Arctic lakes across western Siberia. The idea here is that rising air and soil temperatures thaw permafrost, allowing the lakes to drain away into the ground.

Some lakes disappear because of human development factors. The shrinking Aral Sea is described as being "murdered" by the diversion for irrigation of the rivers feeding it.

Extraterrestrial lakes[link]

Titan's north polar hydrocarbon seas and lakes as seen in a false-color Cassini synthetic aperture radar mosaic.

At present the surface of the planet Mars is too cold and has too little atmospheric pressure to permit the pooling of liquid water on the surface. Geologic evidence appears to confirm, however, that ancient lakes once formed on the surface. It is also possible that volcanic activity on Mars will occasionally melt subsurface ice, creating large lakes.^{[citation needed]} Under current conditions this water would quickly freeze and sublimate unless insulated in some manner, such as by a coating of volcanic ash.

Only one world other than Earth is known to harbor lakes, Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Photographs and spectroscopic analysis by the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft show liquid ethane on the surface, which is thought to be mixed with liquid methane.

Jupiter's small moon Io is volcanically active due to tidal stresses, and as a result sulfur deposits have accumulated on the surface. Some photographs taken during the Galileo mission appear to show lakes of liquid sulfur on the surface.^[14]

There are dark basaltic plains on the Moon, similar to lunar maria but smaller, that are called lacus (singular lacus, Latin for "lake") because they were thought by early astronomers to be lakes of water.

Notable lakes[link]

Round Tangle Lake, one of the Tangle Lakes, located 2,864 feet (873 m) above sea level in interior Alaska

• Lake Michigan-Huron is the largest lake by surface area: 117,350 km². It also has the longest lake coastline in the world: 8,790 km. If Huron and Michigan are considered two lakes, Lake Superior is the largest lake, with 82,414 km². However, Huron still has the longest coastline at 6,157 km (2980 km excluding the coastlines of its many inner islands). The world's smallest geological ocean, the Caspian Sea, at 394,299 km² has a surface area greater than the six largest freshwater lakes combined, and it's frequently cited as the world's largest lake.
• The deepest lake is Lake Baikal in Siberia, with a bottom at 1,637 m. Its mean depth is also the greatest in the world (749 m).
  It is also the world's largest lake by volume (23,600 km³, though smaller than the Caspian Sea at 78,200 km³), and the second longest (about 630 km from tip to tip).
• The longest lake is Lake Tanganyika, with a length of about 660 km (measured along the lake's center line).
  It is also the second largest by volume and second deepest (1,470 m) in the world, after lake Baikal.
• The world's oldest lake is Lake Baikal, followed by Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania).
• The world's highest lake, if size is not a criterion, may be the crater lake of Ojos del Salado, at 6,390 metres (20,965 ft).^[15]
• The highest large (greater than 250 square kilometers) freshwater lake in the world is the 290 km² Pumoyong Tso (Pumuoyong Tso), in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, at 28-34N 90-24E, 5,018 metres (16,463 ft) above sea level.^[16]
• The world's highest commercially navigable lake is Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia at 3,812 m (12,507 ft). It is also the largest freshwater (and second largest overall) lake in South America.
• The world's lowest lake is the Dead Sea, bordering Israel and Jordan at 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level. It is also one of the lakes with highest salt concentration.
• Lake Huron has the longest lake coastline in the world: about 2980 km, excluding the coastline of its many inner islands.
• The largest island in a freshwater lake is Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, with a surface area of 2,766 km². Lake Manitou, located on Manitoulin Island, is the largest lake on an island in a freshwater lake.
• The largest lake located on an island is Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island, with an area of 5,542 km² and a maximum length of 123 km.^[17]
• The largest lake in the world that drains naturally in two directions is Wollaston Lake.
• Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra is located in what is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth.
• The largest lake located completely within the boundaries of a single city is Lake Wanapitei in the city of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Before the current city boundaries came into effect in 2001, this status was held by Lake Ramsey, also in Sudbury.
• Lake Enriquillo in Dominican Republic is the only saltwater lake in the world inhabited by crocodiles.
• Lake Bernard, Ontario, Canada, claims to be the largest freshwater lake in the world with no islands.
• The largest lake in one country is Lake Michigan, in the U.S.A. However, it is sometimes considered part of Lake Michigan-Huron, making the record go to Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, in Canada, the largest lake within one jurisdiction.
• The largest lake on an island in a lake on an island is Crater Lake on Vulcano Island in Lake Taal on the island of Luzon, The Philippines.
• The northernmost named lake on Earth is Upper Dumbell Lake in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada at a latitude of 82°28'N. It is located only 5.2 kilometers southwest of Alert, the northernmost settlement in the world. There are also several small lakes located north of Upper Dumbell Lake, but they are all unnamed and only appear on very detailed maps.

Largest by continent[link]

The largest lakes (surface area) by continent are:

• Australia – Lake Eyre (salt lake)
• Africa – Lake Victoria, also the third-largest freshwater lake on Earth. It is one of the Great Lakes of Africa.
• Antarctica – Lake Vostok (subglacial)
• Asia – Lake Baikal (if the Caspian Sea is considered a lake, it is the largest in Eurasia, but is divided between the two geographic continents)
• Oceania – Lake Eyre when filled; the largest permanent (and freshwater) lake in Oceania is Lake Taupo.
• Europe – Lake Ladoga, followed by Lake Onega, both located in northwestern Russia.
• North America – Lake Michigan-Huron, which is hydrologically a single lake. However, lakes Huron and Michigan are often considered separate lakes, in which case Lake Superior would be the largest.
• South America – Lake Titicaca, which is also the highest navigable body of water on Earth at 3,821 m above sea level. The much larger Lake Maracaibo is considered by some to be the second-oldest lake on Earth, but since it lies at sea level and nowadays is a contiguous body of water with the sea, others consider that it has turned into a bay.

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lakes

Look up lake in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Lakes Database
• Lake Classification Systems
• World's Most Beautiful Lakes – slideshow by The Huffington Post

Lake Chambers Speed
Born	(1948-01-17) January 17, 1948 (age 64) Jackson, Mississippi
Awards	6-time United States Karting champion 1978 World Karting champion
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
402 race(s) run over 19 year(s)
Best finish	10th - 1985 Winston Cup season
First race	1980 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Last race	1998 Jiffy Lube 300 (New Hampshire)
First win	1988 TranSouth 500 (Darlington)
Last win	1988 TranSouth 500 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 75
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
6 race(s) run over 2 year(s)
First race	1983 Miller Time 300 (Charlotte)
Last race	1984 Miller Time 300 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 3 0

Lake Chambers Speed (born on January 17, 1948) is a former NASCAR driver.

Background[link]

Lake was named after the best friend of his father, Bob Lake. Lake's father Leland L. Speed took office as the Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi in 1948, the same year that he was born. He started his racing career at the age of thirteen racing karts, much to the displeasure of his family. Over the years, Speed won the International Karting Federation (IKF) National Championship six times and in 1978 he won the prestigious Karting World Championship over among others, future Formula One legend and icon Ayrton Senna. As of 2010, Speed is the only American to win the championship.

NASCAR career[link]

1980-1984[link]

In 1980 after considering racing in other series such as Formula One, CART, and IMSA, and getting advice from current Lowe's Motor Speedway promoter, Humpy Wheeler, Speed chose to go NASCAR racing. According to Speed, "It was the highest mountain to climb." Speed's relative unfamiliarity with the NASCAR scene led him to buy his first car from someone in Chicago. Speed started nineteen races in his rookie year scoring an eighth at Darlington Speedway in his third career start. Speed also scored finishes of seventh at the spring Talladega Superspeedway race, eighth at Talladega's fall event, seventh at Charlotte's fall event and eighth at the season ending race at Ontario Motor Speedway. Speed finished twenty-second in overall points and second to Jody Ridley in the rookie of the year standings.

In 1981, Speed again ran his own operation starting twenty-seven of the thirty-one races on the schedule. Lake was unable to qualify for the 1981 Daytona 500, but did manage to win the 30-lap consolation race, leading the race from start to finish. He scored a ninth place finish in both races at Rockingham and at Bristol. He followed that up with a seventh in Martinsville Speedway's spring event, an eighth at the now-defunct Texas World Speedway and a sixth in the late summer Talladega event. Speed's final top ten would come at Bristol in August where he finished seventh. The final points tally came up with Speed finishing eighteenth in points. One special footnote for Speed during the '81 season was that he enabled future NASCAR pace car driver Elmo Langley to start his 536th and final NASCAR race at Dover in the Mason-Dixon 500. Langley started 29th and finished 29th completing only six laps before a driveshaft failure.

1982 was Speed's first full year of competition on the Winston Cup circuit. This time, Speed was driving for the first time for another car owner, Roger Hamby. The beginning of the season was a struggle with Speed not obtaining a top ten finish until the eleventh race at Dover International Speedway. In July at Daytona, Speed scored his second top ten finish with a ninth. Speed continued to struggle as the season wrapped up managing to finish sixth in the Southern 500 at Darlington and eighth at the fall event in North Wilkesboro Speedway. Speed finished twentieth in points.

1983 was a year of major change for Lake Speed. He was now driving for an established owner in Hoss Ellington, however on a limited schedule. The team showed promise early in the season scoring a fourth at Rockingham and a sixth at Darlington. It was at Talladega where Speed's life took a major change. Towards the race's end, Speed was leading the field with a chance to win his first Cup race. He was beaten at the end by Richard Petty and Benny Parsons. After the race, Speed decided to change his life and become a devout Christian on August 28. The week after Talladega, Speed scored another top ten with a sixth in the World 600 at Charlotte. Speed's final top ten of the season would be at the August Michigan International Speedway race with an eighth place finish. Speed finished twenty-seventh in the points standings.