Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond or Lake?

At what size does a pond become a lake? My neighbor's 7.5 acre has more lake character than pond character in my view.

It may be a matter of semantics, John!

Mine is 2 acres, half the people call it a pond, half call it a lake.

For me, it's a pond, yet at it's best has the serenity of a lake.

But right now because of all the rains and runoff and looking like chocolate milk, it's a puddle .

I heard a funny one from a real estate agent. If you're selling property, it's a lake. If you're buying it's a pond..

Technically, a pond is man made, and a lake is natural, but size has long been what most use to define a lake and pond. Some areas say 5 acres plus, and other areas say 10 acres plus to be a lake. Depth can also be part of the differences in definitions. Some states define a "lake" by size (Maine defines a lake as 10 acres surface area or more)

If you own it, call it whatever you like!

If that's the case Rex, I have a 600 gallon Koi lake in my back yard. It does have 4 really large bluegill in it though. LOL

I have wondered this same thing many times. Thanks

Why do some lake names have the word lake in front of the name and some have the word lake after the name?

Example:

Cedar Creek Lake
Lake Whitney

I looked into the same question a few years ago. FWIW One definition I remember said a BOW has to be big enough to impact weather patterns to be a lake. By that definition, does that mean there are only 5 lakes in the US?

Practically speaking a lake is a BOW that is too large to afford to fix problems with, and a pond is manageable. So if you are not rich like me, then a 1 acre pond is considered a lake. ;-)