Difference between a river and a lake
One of the most obvious differences between a river and a lake can basically be seen very easily. In the case of a river, the natural waters in it flow within its banks either towards a lake or an ocean. When it comes to a lake, the water contained is still and barely flows. It is this factor that leads to the exact definition of a lake which is a large body of still natural water. Although some may argue that indeed lake water has some movements, the reality of the matter is that water movement in lakes is caused by wind, this means that if there is no wind, the water cannot move. Contrary to the lake, a river will indeed flow naturally without the influence of anything.
In cases where external factors have been involved in movement of water in rivers, they have been involved not to cause movement, but to affect the already existing movement either positively in terms of increasing speed or negatively in reducing speed.
Another difference between a river and lake that is also based on appearance is the vast nature of a lake. A lake is simply a large body of water contained in a large mass of land normally 5 hectares and above. A river on the other hand is simply a channel that is not that big in land mass but in most cases is long. Rivers are also connected with the vast seas and oceans while the lakes are just inland bodies of water that have no single connection to oceans and seas.
The other notable difference that will conclude our comparison is actually the fact that lakes can be both natural and artificial as opposed to rivers which can only be natural. In recent times vast reservoirs of water have been developed for purposes of water storage and production of hydroelectric power. These dams are indeed large masses of water bodies that have been widely called the artificial lakes. There are no artificial rivers although a majority of the artificial lake are developed or constructed from rivers.