Intended for biology and environmental sciences students, this study of lake systems covers the physics, chemistry, and biology of lakes. The text includes ecosystem examples to illustrate basic concepts in limnology. The examples are drawn from all over the world - Africa, the Americas, Antarctica, the Arctic, Europe, Japan, and New Zealand. This wide array of examples allows the authors to point out marked differences in size, basin shape, climate, and biota while illustrating a unity of principles in limnology. The number of topics is limited so that major subjects - such as physical conditions within lake systems, applications to the environment, and the success of big rivers, streams, and estuaries - can be covered in more depth.