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The LAGOS-US RESERVOIR data module (hereafter, RESERVOIR) classifies all 137,465 lakes > 4 hectares in the conterminous U.S. into one of the following three categories using a machine-learning predictive model based on visual interpretation of lake outlines and a classification rule based on lake shape. Natural Lakes (NLs) are defined as lakes that are likely to be entirely or mostly naturally-formed and that do not have large, flow-altering structures on or near them; Reservoir Class A’s (RSVR_A) are defined as lakes that are likely to be either human-made or highly human-altered by the presence of a relatively large water control structure that appears to significantly change the flow of water; and Reservoir Class B’s (RSVR_Bs) are lakes that are likely to be entirely human-made based on isolation from rivers and a highly angular shape that is rarely, if ever, seen in natural lakes also often. We trained the machine learning models on 12,162 manually-classified lakes to assign probabilities of a lake being in 1 of 2 of the categories (NL or RSVR), then we further classified the RSVR classification into either A or B based on NHD Fcodes, isolation, and angularity. The data module includes a detailed User Guide, metadata tables, and a data table that includes information such as location, lake geometry, surface water connectivity class, and official name. Using our definition, our classification indicates that over 46 % of lakes > 4 ha in the conterminous U.S. are reservoir lakes. These data can be combined with other LAGOS-US data modules and U.S. national databases using unique lake identifiers to study both reservoir lakes and natural lakes at broad scales. 

The LAGOS-US LAKE DEPTH v1.0 module (hereafter, called DEPTH) contains in situ measurements of lake depth for a subset of all lakes (n = 17,675) in the conterminous U.S. > 1 ha (3.7% of 479,950) that are in the LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 data module (Smith et al. 2021). All 17,675 lakes in DEPTH have a maximum depth value and 6,137 lakes have a mean depth. DEPTH includes approximately 65 data sources obtained from community, government, and university monitoring programs, as well as academic reports and commercial websites. DEPTH includes lake identifiers, lake location, lake area, lake depth (both maximum and mean depth when available), source information, and data flags. The unique lake identifier (lagoslakeid) for all lakes is the same one used in LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0. 

Abstract Given how important lakes are to people, it might seem safe to assume that careful thought has been put into the naming of lakes, and that lake names reflect the high societal value people place on lakes. We examined these assumptions by analyzing the official names in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System for the 479,950 lakes ≥ 1 ha in the conterminous U.S. We found that 83% of lakes were unnamed and most of these were small lakes with 80% of unnamed lakes being smaller than 4 ha. Based on the 83,115 named lakes, we found that lake names reflect peoples' everyday lives, that lakes can inspire creativity (although the most common lake name is “Mud”), that Native American and indigenous languages have played a role in lake naming, and that there are regional differences in lake names. Unfortunately, we also found that derogatory terms were part of some lake names. We advocate for thoughtful and inclusive official naming of the 400,000 unnamed lakes in the U.S., as well as renaming of the lakes with derogatory terms to help focus attention on the importance of lakes to local communities and nations.