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When I first flew to the USA from UK we took off from London then were almost immediately over water, for about 6 hours, then (I had a window seat) we we finall

When I first flew to the USA from UK we took off from London then were almost immediately over water, for about 6 hours, then (I had a window seat) we we finally over land! Then we went over water again for about an hour and I was confused. The Atlantic was behind us? Turns out we flew over the great lakes, which took an hour at circa 500 mph. Mind blown. Then I went to Chicago and they have a beach. With an ocean. Looks exactly like a normal beach. Except it's a lake! Fresh water beach blew my tiny mind again. The largest lake I'd seen before that was in the lake district (imaginatively named) in England. They were big, to me. But they were not horizon to horizon like Lake Michigan was.

tleilaxu 4y ago
I think part of this is down to a failure of the English language around the word ‘lake’. If we had a word for “inland freshwater sea” then we would be able to distinguish between a lake and a _lake_. The best we can do right now is add “great” preceding it!
- rcme 4y ago
  The surface area of Lake Bakal isn’t even that large. It’s just really deep.
- ithinkso 4y ago
  There is a Caspian sea in Asia, which is a lake to make it more clear. In the end, the disctinction based on size is a wonky one and makes no sense in the long run so I don't mind having large lakes that are bigger than some seas
- dmurray 4y ago
  English doesn't do that badly here. German and some other European languages use the same word for a 100 metre wide lake as for a sea stretching a thousand kilometers, like the North Sea.
  - eliaspro 4y ago
    In German it's a bit complicated: - die See (fem.), alt. das Meer (neutr.) - the sea (a saltwater ocean) - der See (masc.) - the lake (an inland freshwater lake) But then again, "das Meer" is sometimes used for freshwater lakes when connotated with some context, e.g. "das Schwäbische Meer" as an alternative name for "Lake Constance".
- ianburrell 4y ago
  freshsea or superlake?
spaceman_2020 4y ago
I traveled to Russia in 2019 and visited Lake Baikal. Was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that it contained nearly a fifth of all fresh surface water in the world.
- mytailorisrich 4y ago
  Yeah, it's not only big but also extremely deep.
- nonethewiser 4y ago
  And it’s getting bigger
PopAlongKid 4y ago
Don't forget that Michigan and Huron are actually a single lake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Michigan%E2%80%93Huron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Michigan%E2%80%93Huron
- jamiek88 4y ago
  Mind TRIPLE blown.
kennend3 4y ago
> Then I went to Chicago and they have a beach. With an ocean. Looks exactly like a normal beach. Except it's a lake! Fresh water beach blew my tiny mind again. Come visit Lake Ontario sometime. we have an area with almost 2,000 islands all grouped together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Islands Some are small, others a pretty decent size with multiple homes on them (Wolfe island). I've lived on the coast of lake Ontario most my life.. I enjoyed reading your post as it put things in perspective. Normally Lake Ontario is just sort of there, i ride my bike 80KM along its shores every other day.. I guess some lakes do not have 1,146 km or shoreline?
- genocidicbunny 4y ago
  > I guess some lakes do not have 1,146 km or shoreline? Fun aside -- that depends on how precisely you measure. Shorelines resemble fractals, and the higher resolution you measure them at, the longer they will get.
  - kennend3 4y ago
    Completely agree with you. I just googled "lake ontario shoreline" and i'm sure if you spent a few mins you would find multiple answers for the reason you specified. I think shoreline also includes islands, so in lake Ontario's case.. there are a lot of islands and so my point is sort of washed.
- jamiek88 4y ago
  Wow, sounds amazing, i will do! I've only been to Western Canada (Alberta mostly) and would love to see more of your great country and I believe I have relatives in Toronto so would love to travel more there.
  - kennend3 4y ago
    I lived out in Alberta long ago.. if you like "nature".. Ontario doesnt have much to offer.. it isnt like you can see a snow-covered mountain range from your backyard in Ontario (this was my view in Calgary). But we do have Lake Ontario, Niagara falls, etc. Walk down the bridge, pay the 25 or 50 cents and walk to the US side... Niagara falls Canada is a tourist trap, the US side is a state park. The GTA (Greater Toronto area) will be an interesting experience for you. Despite the massive size of the country, a lot of the population lives in a thin strip along the US/CAN border. Population of Alberta 4.371 million Population of the GTA 5.928 million Population of Canada 38.25 million

tleilaxu 4y ago

I think part of this is down to a failure of the English language around the word ‘lake’. If we had a word for “inland freshwater sea” then we would be able to distinguish between a lake and a _lake_. The best we can do right now is add “great” preceding it!

rcme 4y ago
The surface area of Lake Bakal isn’t even that large. It’s just really deep.
ithinkso 4y ago
There is a Caspian sea in Asia, which is a lake to make it more clear. In the end, the disctinction based on size is a wonky one and makes no sense in the long run so I don't mind having large lakes that are bigger than some seas
dmurray 4y ago
English doesn't do that badly here. German and some other European languages use the same word for a 100 metre wide lake as for a sea stretching a thousand kilometers, like the North Sea.
- eliaspro 4y ago
  In German it's a bit complicated: - die See (fem.), alt. das Meer (neutr.) - the sea (a saltwater ocean) - der See (masc.) - the lake (an inland freshwater lake) But then again, "das Meer" is sometimes used for freshwater lakes when connotated with some context, e.g. "das Schwäbische Meer" as an alternative name for "Lake Constance".
ianburrell 4y ago
freshsea or superlake?

spaceman_2020 4y ago

I traveled to Russia in 2019 and visited Lake Baikal. Was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that it contained nearly a fifth of all fresh surface water in the world.

mytailorisrich 4y ago
Yeah, it's not only big but also extremely deep.
nonethewiser 4y ago
And it’s getting bigger

PopAlongKid 4y ago

Don't forget that Michigan and Huron are actually a single lake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Michigan%E2%80%93Huron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Michigan%E2%80%93Huron

jamiek88 4y ago
Mind TRIPLE blown.

kennend3 4y ago

> Then I went to Chicago and they have a beach. With an ocean. Looks exactly like a normal beach. Except it's a lake! Fresh water beach blew my tiny mind again. Come visit Lake Ontario sometime. we have an area with almost 2,000 islands all grouped together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Islands Some are small, others a pretty decent size with multiple homes on them (Wolfe island). I've lived on the coast of lake Ontario most my life.. I enjoyed reading your post as it put things in perspective. Normally Lake Ontario is just sort of there, i ride my bike 80KM along its shores every other day.. I guess some lakes do not have 1,146 km or shoreline?

genocidicbunny 4y ago
> I guess some lakes do not have 1,146 km or shoreline? Fun aside -- that depends on how precisely you measure. Shorelines resemble fractals, and the higher resolution you measure them at, the longer they will get.
- kennend3 4y ago
  Completely agree with you. I just googled "lake ontario shoreline" and i'm sure if you spent a few mins you would find multiple answers for the reason you specified. I think shoreline also includes islands, so in lake Ontario's case.. there are a lot of islands and so my point is sort of washed.
jamiek88 4y ago
Wow, sounds amazing, i will do! I've only been to Western Canada (Alberta mostly) and would love to see more of your great country and I believe I have relatives in Toronto so would love to travel more there.
- kennend3 4y ago
  I lived out in Alberta long ago.. if you like "nature".. Ontario doesnt have much to offer.. it isnt like you can see a snow-covered mountain range from your backyard in Ontario (this was my view in Calgary). But we do have Lake Ontario, Niagara falls, etc. Walk down the bridge, pay the 25 or 50 cents and walk to the US side... Niagara falls Canada is a tourist trap, the US side is a state park. The GTA (Greater Toronto area) will be an interesting experience for you. Despite the massive size of the country, a lot of the population lives in a thin strip along the US/CAN border. Population of Alberta 4.371 million Population of the GTA 5.928 million Population of Canada 38.25 million