- published: 30 Jan 2014
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Lake Tai, or Tai Lake (Chinese: 太湖; pinyin: Tài Hú; literally "Grand Lake") or Lake Taihu, is a large lake in the Yangtze Delta plain, on the border of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces Eastern China. The waters of the lake belong to the former in its entirety with part of its southern shore forming the boundary between the two provinces. With an area of 2,250 km² and an average depth of 2 metres, it is the third largest freshwater lake in China, after Poyang and Dongting Lakes. The lake houses about 90 islands, ranging in size from a few square meters to several square miles.
Lake Tai is linked to the renowned Grand Canal and is the origin of a number of rivers, including Suzhou Creek. In recent years, Lake Tai has been plagued by pollution as a result of rapid economic growth in the surrounding region.
Scientific studies suggest that Lake Tai's circular structure is the result of a meteor impact based on the discovery of shatter cones, shock metamorphosed quartz, microtektites, and shock metamorphic unloading fractures. Recent science has dated the possible impact crater to be greater than 70 million years old and possibly from the Late Devonian Period. Fossils indicate that Lake Tai was dry land until the ingression of the East China Sea during the Holocene epoch. The growing deltas of the Yangtze and Qiantang rivers eventually sealed off Lake Tai from the sea, and the influx of fresh water from rivers and rains turned Lake Tai into a freshwater lake.
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. 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.
Tai may refer to: