I located a test to determine whether or not you have a lake or a pond. This is on the internet so it must be true.
Lake verus Pond Test My 3 acre body of water was named "Hidden Lake" by the locals a long time ago. It is at the end of a small valley and hidden from view which I'm guessing is where the name came from. We named our property Hidden Lake Ranch because Hidden Pond Ranch sounded kinda dumb but would have probably been a more accurate description.
This is from a New Hampshire web site:
The term "lake" or "pond" as part of a waterbody name is arbitrary and not based on any specific naming convention. In general, lakes tend to be larger and/or deeper than ponds, but numerous examples exist of "ponds" that are larger and deeper than "lakes." For example, Echo "Lake" in Conway is 14 acres in surface area with a maximum depth of 11 feet, while Island "Pond" in Derry is nearly 500 acres and 80 feet deep. Names for lakes and ponds generally originated from the early settlers living near them, and the use of the terms "lake" and "pond" was completely arbitrary. Many have changed names through the years, often changing from a pond to a lake with no change in size or depth. Often these changes in name were to make the area sound more attractive to perspective home buyers. Examples of ponds that are now called lakes include Mud Pond to Mirror Lake in Canaan, Mosquito Pond to Crystal Lake in Manchester and Dishwater Pond to Mirror Lake in Tuftonboro.Seems like they don't know either.
