# Are there any lakes within lakes within lakes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186 "2007-06-07T22:15:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/1 "2007-06-07T22:15:09Z")
I see on Google maps that there is a [mile-long island](http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=45.813128,-82.30854&spn=0.028656,0.080338&z=14) in Lake Kagawong, which is a lake on Manitoulin Island, which is in turn an island in Lake Huron. Could it be that there is a lake on that small island, which would therefore be a lake within a lake within a lake? I can see a few dark dots at maximum Google resolution which could just be lakes, but more likely ponds, in keeping with Wikipedia’s article on [Manitoulin Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoulin_island): “in turn a few of these ‘islands within islands’ have their own ponds.” Are there lakes within lakes within lakes elsewhere, perhaps in the Caspian Sea? Or are any of the Manitoulin ponds named, which to my mind would be good enough to give them Lake[sup]3[/sup] status? You’d think that some enterprising soul would name one of these ponds Lake Whatever just so he could throw up a huge sign saying “see the world’s only lake within a lake within a lake”. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/2 "2007-06-07T22:31:17Z")
Believe it or not, we did this question a lomng time ago. I am not sure how to search for it. I remember getting to the third level of so if you include ponds but the definitions get tricky very fast. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/3 "2007-06-07T23:42:04Z")
The Lake Toba area in Indonesia is an interesting place. You have the island of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. Then you have Lake Toba with Samosir Island in the middle. And finally you have several small lakes on the island itself. The largest of which is Lake Sidohoni. I was there many years ago. Its a very cool place (literally). Even though its almost right on the equator, its elevation (3000’) and cool lake water gives it a pleasant climate. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/4 "2007-06-08T00:04:11Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Believe it or not, we did this question a lomng time ago. I am not sure how to search for it. I remember getting to the third level of so if you include ponds but the definitions get tricky very fast. [/QUOTE] What is the difference between pond and lake? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/5 "2007-06-08T00:08:33Z")
I would have said a pond is a static body of water, whereas a lake is fed by streams or rivers, but I bet that’s not the right answer. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/6 "2007-06-08T00:10:43Z")
…And I’d be right (that I was wrong). A lake is a body of water enclosed by land. A pond is the same thing, but smaller than a lake. That’s what the dictionary says. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/7 "2007-06-08T00:15:01Z")
Anyway, I think I have a candidate: https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Manicouagan,%2BManicouagan,%2BQuebec,%2BCanada&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=60.376022,112.324219&ie=UTF8&cd=1&ll=51.348896,-68.799562&spn=0.023641,0.054846&t=k&z=14&om=1 There’s a dark spot on that island that I think is a pond. The island itself is in a lake, in an island in the Manicouagan Reservoir. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/8 "2007-06-08T00:15:24Z")
And you also have the ambiguity of when does a widening in a river/stream become a lake/pond? That’s why I like the idea of the body of water having a name, although I realise that that criterion can be manipulated too. ETA this is in reply to a few posts back ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/9 "2007-06-08T00:49:25Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Believe it or not, we did this question a lomng time ago. I am not sure how to search for it. I remember getting to the third level of so if you include ponds but the definitions get tricky very fast. [/QUOTE] I asked it. I titled it “recursive islands”, IIRC. It was a long time ago, and it has gone the way of all old threads. It didn’t get an extremely definitive answer anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/10 "2007-06-08T07:10:09Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] And you also have the ambiguity of when does a widening in a river/stream become a lake/pond? That’s why I like the idea of the body of water having a name, although I realise that that criterion can be manipulated too. ETA this is in reply to a few posts back [/QUOTE] I think it becomes a pond when a dam or other obstruction causes it to back up - there’s probably a different name for stretches of river that just widen for other reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Jimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@Jimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/11 "2007-06-08T07:58:34Z")
Why I love google example 62,861 [http://www.elbruz.org/islands/Islands%20and%20Lakes.htm](http://www.elbruz.org/islands/Islands%20and%20Lakes.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/12 "2007-06-08T09:02:05Z")
I once stood on a small island in the middle of Lake Desor surrounded by Isle Royale surrounded by Lake Superior. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/13 "2007-06-08T16:35:48Z")
[QUOTE=Jimpy] Why I love google example 62,861 [http://www.elbruz.org/islands/Islands%20and%20Lakes.htm](http://www.elbruz.org/islands/Islands%20and%20Lakes.htm) [/QUOTE] Your link is fantastic! ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/14 "2007-06-08T16:41:47Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] …And I’d be right (that I was wrong). A lake is a body of water enclosed by land. A pond is the same thing, but smaller than a lake. That’s what the dictionary says. [/QUOTE] And a pool is smaller still, not to mention a puddle. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/15 "2007-06-08T16:45:53Z")
I’ve always understood the difference between a pond and a lake as being whether or not life-sustaining light reached the deepest portion of the bottom. ‘Yes’ for a pond, ‘No’ for a lake. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/16 "2007-06-08T17:51:41Z")
Largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island Well…that’s straightforward. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/17 "2007-06-08T18:10:34Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] I see on Google maps that there is a [mile-long island](http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=45.813128,-82.30854&spn=0.028656,0.080338&z=14) in Lake Kagawong, which is a lake on Manitoulin Island, which is in turn an island in Lake Huron. [/QUOTE] And Lake Huron is a lake on the very, very big island called North and South America. (Or just North America, if one considers that the Panama Canal creates two large islands.) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/18 "2007-06-08T18:17:08Z")
Yes, but that “island” is not itself in a lake. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/19 "2007-06-08T18:29:26Z")
Isle Royale in Lake Superior has the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake in the world, or so I’ve been told. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186/20 "2007-06-08T18:30:11Z")
What, you’ve never heard of Lake Panthallasa? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-lakes-within-lakes-within-lakes/407186.md?page=2)