Shrunken lake

A shrunken lake is a still extant natural lake that has permanently shrunk considerably in size over time, possibly to the point where it has divided into two or more smaller lakes. Shrunken lakes include not only lakes that have shrunk in recorded history, but also are known to have shrunk in prehistory.

Lake Agassiz, which once covered much of central North America, is a good example of a shrunken lake. Two notable remnants of this lake are Lake Winnipeg and Lake Winnipegosis.[1]

If a lake has permanently vanished, it is a former lake. If a lake periodically refills, such as Lake Eyre, it is neither a shrunken lake—because shrunken lakes do not return to their pre-shrinkage levels—nor a former lake—because the lake water returns.