An artificial lake is a water reservoir artificially put on, which is in a valley behind a shut-off building - for example a dam or a barrage weir and/or a weir -. A small artificial lake is called also storage reservoir. An artificial lake is a part of a water retaining structure. Artificial lake partly also in natural way a developed lake behind a landslip, a glacier tongue or a lava stream is called.

General information

Both kinds - artificial or natural -, specified before, prevent the water of running waters and the directly the water surface hitting precipitation from flowing on, until it must be discharged because of floods and/or for the purpose of the electricity production at the dam or in natural way for example over the lava stream overflows.

While a dam with its power station is established for the purpose of the energy production, the memory space of an artificial lake serves the flood protection as well as the drinking and industrial water production. The actual artificial lake is usually proven as leisure and recreation area, so that water haven of the most diverse kind can be operated. Also the environment of many artificial lakes - mountains, forests and places - often serves such purposes.

Literature

• Dietrich UHL man, Wolfgang horn: Ecology of artificial lakes. Biology in our time 36 (2), P. 92 - 101 (2006), ISSN 0045-205X

See also

• List of the largest artificial lakes of the earth
• List of the artificial lakes in Austria
• List of the storage reservoirs in Switzerland
• List of the largest dams of the earth
• List of dams in Germany
• List of the dams of the world

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