The geography of lakes and ponds involves the process of erosion (wearing away) and deposition (dep-oh-ZIH-shun; setting down), which helps determine the different types of shoreline surfaces and landforms.

Erosion and Deposition

As waves slap against a shoreline, they compress (squeeze) the air trapped in the cracks in rocks. As the waves retreat, the air pressure within the rocks is suddenly released. This process of pressure and release widens the cracks and weakens the rocks, causing them to eventually break apart. Waves created by storms in a large lake can be high and forceful. In places where wave action is strong, the water stirs up the particles of rock and sand from the lake bed throwing them against the shoreline. As a result, particles in the water produce a cutting action eroding the shoreline even further.

Some of the chunks...