Is There Actually A Difference Between Wyoming’s Lakes And Reservoirs?
If you have an orange in one hand and a tangerine in the other, you don't have two oranges. You have 2 separate pieces of fruit. They're alike in many ways, but they're not the same. If they were the same, they'd both be called an orange or both be called a tangerine.
It's the same way with Reservoirs and Lakes. They are a lot alike, but they're not the same. If they were the same, they'd both be called reservoir or they'd both be called lakes.
How aren't they the same? Is there really a big enough difference between the two?
Two words can sum up the difference between reservoir and lake.
Word 1: Manmade
Word 2: Natural
Reservoirs are man made. A dam is built on a river system to hold back and store water.
Lakes are made naturally by glaciers, volcanic activity or the earths crust moving many years ago.
SO, technically, they're not the same. Physically, they're pretty much the same.
You can boat, ski, fish and swim in both, they can both provide drinking water and water for crops.
Wyoming has both lakes and reservoirs and it's almost tied as to how many of each. There are 19 lakes and 20 reservoirs across the state.
Most of the lakes are found in the western part of Wyoming around Yellowstone, The Grand Teton National Parks in Sublette, Fremont, Sweetwater, Park, Teton and Lincoln Counties.
Reservoirs are maintained by the Bureau of Reclamation and quite a few are found in central and eastern Wyoming, like Alcova, Pathfinder, Seminoe, Glendo, Keyhole, Guernsey, and Boysen. The largest reservoir is in southwest Wyoming, The Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
Whether you call them both a lake or if you differentiate, it doesn't really matter. Just get out and enjoy the reservoirs and lakes all over Wyoming.
Here's a cool video that explains it well.