Definition: Given a context passage, generate a question from the passage such that its answer is shortest continous span from the passage.
Input: Ponds are small bodies of fresh water that usually have no outlet; ponds are often are fed by underground springs. Like lakes, ponds are bordered by hills or low rises so the water is blocked from flowing directly downhill. Lakes are larger bodies of water. Lakes are usually fresh water, although the Great Salt Lake in Utah is just one exception. Water usually drains out of a lake through a river or a stream and all lakes lose water to evaporation. Lakes form in a variety of different ways: in depressions carved by glaciers, in calderas (Figure 1.1), and along tectonic faults, to name a few. Subglacial lakes are even found below a frozen ice cap. As a result of geologic history and the arrangement of land masses, most lakes are in the Northern Hemisphere. In fact, more than 60% of all the worlds lakes are in Canada most of these lakes were formed by the glaciers that covered most of Canada in the last Ice Age (Figure 1.2). Lakes are not permanent features of a landscape. Some come and go with the seasons, as water levels rise and fall. Over a longer time, lakes disappear when they fill with sediments, if the springs or streams that fill them diminish, (a) Crater Lake in Oregon is in a volcanic caldera. Lakes can also form in volcanic craters and impact craters. (b) The Great Lakes fill depressions eroded as glaciers scraped rock out from the landscape. (c) Lake Baikal, ice coated in winter in this image, formed as water filled up a tectonic faults. Lakes near Yellowknife were carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age. or if their outlets grow because of erosion. When the climate of an area changes, lakes can either expand or shrink (Figure 1.3). Lakes may disappear if precipitation significantly diminishes. Large lakes have tidal systems and currents, and can even affect weather patterns. The Great Lakes in the United States contain 22% of the worlds fresh surface water (Figure 1.1). The largest them, Lake Superior, has a tide that rises and falls several centimeters each day. The Great Lakes are large enough to alter the weather system in Northeastern United States by the lake effect, which is an increase in snow downwind of the relatively warm lakes. The Great Lakes are home to countless species of fish and wildlife. Many lakes are not natural, but are human-made. People dam a stream in a suitable spot and then let the water back up behind it, creating a lake. These lakes are called "reservoirs." Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL:
