When does a pond stop being a pond and become a lake?

When it gets too big for it’s beaches ;)

It would have to develop an ingress and egress source of water that feeds it and drains it.

The technical distinction between a pond and a lake has not been universally standardized. Limnologists and freshwater biologists have proposed formal definitions for pond, in part to include ‘bodies of water where light penetrates to the bottom of the waterbody,’ ‘bodies of water shallow enough for rooted water plants to grow throughout,’ and ‘bodies of water which lack wave action on the shoreline.’ Each of these definitions have met with resistance or disapproval, as the defining characteristics are each difficult to measure or verify. Accordingly, some organizations and researchers have settled on technical definitions of pond and lake which rely on size alone.[1]

Even among organizations and researchers who distinguish lakes from ponds by size alone, there is no universally recognised standard for the maximum size of a pond. The international Ramsar wetland convention sets the upper limit for pond size as 8 hectares (19.768 acres),[2] but biologists have not universally adopted this convention. Researchers for the British charity Pond Conservation have defined a pond to be ‘a man-made or natural waterbody which is between 1 m2 and 20,000 m2 in area (~2 ha or ~5 acres), which holds water for four months of the year or more.’[3] Other European biologists have set the upper size limit at 5 ha (12.355 acres).[4] In North America, even larger bodies of water have been called ponds; for example, Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts measures 61 acres (~25 ha).
wiki

The main difference between a lake and a pond is the size. A lake is usually defined as a body of water large enough to have at least one wind-swept beach; ponds usually are not large enough for winds to blow across the water and create waves to wash away the plants that may be trying to take root. A lake is too deep for rooted plants to grow except near the shore. Lakes are generally composed of fresh water; although one exception is Salt Lake in Salt Lake City, Utah. Many times, lakes are the source for some rivers.
Source(s):
http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.…

GQ. I’ve often wondered about this as well. Cruiser beat me to posting the Wikipedia answer. After reading it, it’s no wonder there is so much confusion.

@Cruiser You’ve been snorting too much of something.

@Adirondackwannabe Are you telling me I am not supposed to snort coffee?? That’s no fun!!

When the ducks perform breast stroke in a parody of the synchronised swimming from the olympics. Loads of room :¬)

Serious question…

My buildings AC unit drains into a hole cut into the cement on the side of the building. It is big enough for the PVC pipe to fit in and a frog to get in and out of. There is a slight puddle that forms at the bottom of the hole. And, the water has eroded out the bottom of the hole to provide a little bit of “room”. Just enough to keep the frog wet and to hang back a bit.

Frog/s have been living in there for years. Does that qualify being a pond?
And if so. Should I call Guinness. It being the worlds smallest pond.

@ChazMaz You are witnessing a man-made, frog-infested pond. Sign up and submit it to see what transpires. You could be Fluther’s most recent celebrity.