Lake Manitou is the largest lake on Manitoulin Island and also largest lake in a freshwater island in the world (and, ironically, said freshwater island is the largest freshwater island in the world.) It is drained by the Manitou River.
There is also a Manitou Lake in Nipissing District, Ontario and Upper and Lower Manitou Lakes in Kenora District, Ontario.
The significant input sources are precipitation onto the lake; runoff carried by streams and channels from the lake's catchment area; groundwater channels and aquifers; and artificial sources from outside the catchment area.
The material at the bottom of a lake or lake bed may be composed of a wide variety of materials, including inorganics such as silt or sand sediments, and organic material such as decaying plant or animal matter.
A lake may be infilled with deposited sediment, and gradually, the lake becomes a wetland, such as a swamp or marsh.
Lakes are of particular importance since they act as catchment basins for close to 40% of the landscape, supply drinking water, generate electricity, are used to irrigate fields, and serve as recreational areas.
Flora and fauna in the lake are usually found in three zones: the littoral zone closest to the shallow water shore; the limnetic, in the open, well-lit water away from most vegetation; and the lower profundal zones areas of low oxygen and light.
Lakes are transient features on the earth's surface and generally disappear in a relatively short period of geologic time by a combination of processes (e.g., erosion of an outlet or climatic changes that bring drier conditions).
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