A lake (from Latin lacus) is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. A vast majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. In ecology the environment of a lake is referred to as lacustrine. Large lakes are occasionally referred to as "inland seas" and small seas are occasionally referred to as lakes. Smaller lakes tend to put the word "lake" after the name, as in Green Lake, while larger lakes often invert the word order, as in Lake Ontario, at least in North America. In some places, the word "lake" does not correctly appear in the name at all (eg Windermere in Cumbria).
Most lakes have a natural outflow in the form of a river or stream, but some do not, and lose water solely by evaporation and/or underground seepage. They are termed endorheic lakes (see below).
The term lake is also used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre, which is a dry basin most of the time but may become filled under seasonal conditions of heavy rainfall.
Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for hydro-electric power supply, recreational purposes, industrial use, agricultural use, or domestic water supply.
Evidence of extra-terrestrial lakes exists; "definitive evidence of lakes filled with methane" was announced by NASA as returned by the Cassini Probe observing the moon Titan, which orbits the planet Saturn.
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