A marine lake is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

situated very close to the sea, which has a connection to this sea, via tunnels or cracks in the soil. Marine lakes are fed with seawater but are usually also fed with rainwater, meaning that the salt content of the water is usually lower. The measure of salt greatly depends on the size of the tunnel or crack connecting it to the sea. Due to the specific level of salt in the water, and the fact that the lakes are so secluded, marine lakes house a large amount of unique species, often found nowhere else on the planet. Destruction of one such lake hence means that many species can become extinct with it.

Lakes around the world

There are about 200 known marine lakes. Most of these are located in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

, and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. A notable marine lake is Ongeim’l Tketau, in

, known for its vast numbers of

jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrell ...

, to which it owes its nickname, Jellyfish Lake.

Threats

Marine lakes are very vulnerable and suffer greatly from human activities and climate change. Some particular ways on how they are threatened from this are: * introduction of non-endemic species * use as fishponds to store recent catch * use as fishponds to breed newly introduced (bought) or captured fish * use as public toilets

References

{{reflist Lakes

Lakes around the world

Threats

See also

References