A Swim In The Night Pond
There’s a little pond at the back of the pasture, it’s lovely, it’s loud with frogs, and last night an owl was about while I danced and bathed and dreamed. This morning I was thinking, what’s the difference between a pond and a lake?
Evidently it’s not a difference in size or water flow, like I thought, but a difference in life. (I think I like the idea of geographies that are defined by life.) In a pond, plants can potentially grow all across its surface or below its surface this is called a photic zone. A lake however has an aphotic zone, a place the sun can’t penetrate, a place plant’s can’t grow. An aphotic zone is usually determined by depth. Ponds are typically shallow to allow light to pass down deep enough for plants to survive. There’s no standard size for lakes or ponds, they’re usually determined by their composition, both biotic and abiotic. Life defining land! I love it!
Isn’t geography interesting!
