A lake is an often naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from the ocean, although they may be connected with the ocean by rivers, such as Lake Ontario. Most lakes are freshwater and account for almost all the world's surface freshwater, but some are salt lakes with salinities even higher than that of seawater. Lakes vary significantly in surface area and volume.

તળાવ એટલે પાણીનો સંગ્રહ થયેલો વિસ્તાર, જે સમુદ્રનો ભાગ નથી. તળાવ એ જળસંચયનું મોટુ સાધન છે.