Lacawac Hiking Trails
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      • Snake ID
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      • Sphagnum Moss
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    • American Black Bear >
      • Diet
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  • Big Lake Trail
    • Food Web
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    • Japanese Barberry >
      • Characteristics
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      • Minerals
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      • Sedimentary Rocks
      • Metamorphic Rocks
      • Identification
    • Sugar Maple
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    • Lake Wallenpaupack >
      • Electricity Generation
      • Recreation
      • Watershed Management
    • Wild Grapevines
    • Hayscented Fern
  • Carriage-Lakefront Trails
    • Phytoplankton
    • Harmful Algal Blooms
    • Riparian Zones
    • Bioindicators
    • Lake Macroinvertebrates
    • Lake Succession >
      • Oligotrophic Lake
      • Mesotrophic Lake
      • Eutrophic Lake
    • Lake Formation
    • Amphibians
    • Native Fish
    • Lake Research
    • Aquatic Plants
    • Zooplankton
    • Stratification
    • Lake Hydrology
    • Lake Chemistry
    • Monitoring for Preservation
    • Local Research with Global Implications
  • Historic Great Camp Trail
    • Connell Park
    • Sustainable Forestry
    • Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
    • Early Years
    • Field Station
  • Ledges Trail
    • Deer Exclosures
    • Geological Faults >
      • Normal Fault
      • Reverse Fault
      • Strike-slip Fault
    • Wild Orchids
    • Ledges
    • Ferns
    • Mosses & Lichen
    • Vernal Pools
    • Mushrooms
  • Watres Trail
    • Edge Effect
    • Hummocks and Hollows
  • Visitors Center
    • Native Plant Garden >
      • Golden Alexander
      • Black-Eyed Susan
      • Striped Cream Violet
      • Scarlet Beebalm
      • Blazing Star
      • Blue Moon
      • Blue Flag Iris
      • Tickseed
      • Coneflower
      • Butterfly Weed
      • Jerusalem Artichoke
      • Mayapple
      • Blue Wood Sedge
      • Little Blue Stem
    • Bees
    • Weather Station
  • Partner Ridge Trail
  • Warbler Trail

Lake Formation

Lake Formation...

Lakes are formed from many different processes. Some common forms of lakes include:

Tectonic shifts: The movement of the Earth's crust can form lakes. Some of the oldest lakes on Earth are tectonic lakes. These lakes also tend to be very deep. Famous examples include Lake Baikal in Asia and Lake Tanganyika in Africa. 

Natural damming: Many natural processes can form lakes by damming a river or stream. These include landslides, lava flows, glacial debris and even beaver dams. 
A brief demonstration of lake formation by the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain.
Volcanos: Craters caused by volcanic activity can fill with water creating a lake. Volcanic lakes are often round in shape and occur near volcanos. A famous example is Crater Lake in Oregon. 

Dissolution: Water can dissolve porous substrates forming lakes. Sinkholes are an example of this phenomenon.

Rivers: Lakes can be formed when the course of rivers shift, isolating a previously connected meander. Riverine floods can also form scours that become lakes. 

Glacial retreats: Many lakes in the Northern Hemisphere were formed by glaciers. Retreating glaciers can scour the landscape, leave piles of debris, and provide melt-water, all of which can help form lakes. Some famous examples of glacial lakes include Loch Ness, the North American Great Lakes, and...Lake Lacawac!
Lake Lacawac was formed when glaciers retreated from the Pocono Mountain region approximately 13,000 years ago. The retreating glaciers created a crater in the sandstone that became Lake Lacawac. Over the past 13,000 years, the lake has shrunk to roughly 60% of its original size and has accumulated roughly 35 feet of sediment! 

Location

About lacawac sanctuary

Lacawac Sanctuary Field Station and Environmental Education Center is an independent, non-profit, environmental education organization located on the shore of Lake Wallenp​aupack in the Northern Poconos.  We operate solely on program fees, memberships, sponsorships, grants and private donations from people like you

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  • Home
  • About
    • Sources
    • Contact Us
  • Maurice Broun Trail
    • Fields & Meadows
    • Stone Walls
    • Gypsy Moth Caterpillars
    • Oak Trees >
      • White Oak
      • Red Oak
      • Black Oak
    • Raccoons
    • Owls
    • Snakes >
      • Snake ID
    • Bats >
      • Bat Houses
  • Lake Lacawac Trail
    • White Pine
    • Eastern Hemlock
    • Bog Plants >
      • Sphagnum Moss
      • Blueberry Bushes
      • Pickerelweed
    • Lake Lacawac
    • Glacial Bog
    • Diversity of Birds
    • Glacial Erratic Rock
    • American Black Bear >
      • Diet
      • Population
      • Reproduction
  • Big Lake Trail
    • Food Web
    • North American Beaver
    • Osprey
    • Watershed
    • Japanese Barberry >
      • Characteristics
      • Threat to Forest
      • Control Methods
    • Minerals & Rocks >
      • Minerals
      • Igneous Rocks
      • Sedimentary Rocks
      • Metamorphic Rocks
      • Identification
    • Sugar Maple
    • Streams
    • Hydroelectric Dam
    • Lake Wallenpaupack >
      • Electricity Generation
      • Recreation
      • Watershed Management
    • Wild Grapevines
    • Hayscented Fern
  • Carriage-Lakefront Trails
    • Phytoplankton
    • Harmful Algal Blooms
    • Riparian Zones
    • Bioindicators
    • Lake Macroinvertebrates
    • Lake Succession >
      • Oligotrophic Lake
      • Mesotrophic Lake
      • Eutrophic Lake
    • Lake Formation
    • Amphibians
    • Native Fish
    • Lake Research
    • Aquatic Plants
    • Zooplankton
    • Stratification
    • Lake Hydrology
    • Lake Chemistry
    • Monitoring for Preservation
    • Local Research with Global Implications
  • Historic Great Camp Trail
    • Connell Park
    • Sustainable Forestry
    • Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
    • Early Years
    • Field Station
  • Ledges Trail
    • Deer Exclosures
    • Geological Faults >
      • Normal Fault
      • Reverse Fault
      • Strike-slip Fault
    • Wild Orchids
    • Ledges
    • Ferns
    • Mosses & Lichen
    • Vernal Pools
    • Mushrooms
  • Watres Trail
    • Edge Effect
    • Hummocks and Hollows
  • Visitors Center
    • Native Plant Garden >
      • Golden Alexander
      • Black-Eyed Susan
      • Striped Cream Violet
      • Scarlet Beebalm
      • Blazing Star
      • Blue Moon
      • Blue Flag Iris
      • Tickseed
      • Coneflower
      • Butterfly Weed
      • Jerusalem Artichoke
      • Mayapple
      • Blue Wood Sedge
      • Little Blue Stem
    • Bees
    • Weather Station
  • Partner Ridge Trail
  • Warbler Trail