Bifurcation lake is a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 that naturally has outflows into two different drainage basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

s and thus the drainage divide cannot be defined exactly because it is situated in the middle of the lake.

Examples

Two nearby lakes in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 are Vesijako

Vesijako

Vesijako is a lake in Finland. It is situated in Padasjoki in the region of Päijänne Tavastia.The lake is famous in Finland as a bifurcation lake , together with the nearby Lummene that is somewhat less known, and from which waters flow eastwards into lake Päijänne and westwards through the lake...

 (the name Vesijako actually means "drainage divide") and Lummene

Lummene

Lummene is a lake in Finland in the municipality of Kuhmoinen in the Central Finland region.The lake is a bifurcation lake. One outflow from it is eastwards into the lake Päijänne, which is a part of Kymijoki basin and drains into the Gulf of Finland. Other outflow is into lake Vehkajärvi and from...

 in the finnish Lakeland

Finnish Lakeland

Finnish Lakeland or Finnish lake district is the largest of the four landscape regions into which the geography of Finland is divided.The hilly, forest-covered landscape of the lake plateau is dominated by drumlins and by long sinuous eskers...

 that both drain in two directions: into the Kymijoki basin that drains into the Gulf of Finland

Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...

 and into the Kokemäenjoki

Kokemäenjoki

The Kokemäenjoki is a river and its drainage basin in southwestern Finland.-Geography:The river originates at Lake Liekovesi in the Pirkanmaa region, and flows to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori in the Satakunta region...

 basin that drains into the Gulf of Bothnia

Gulf of Bothnia

The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...

.

Similarly the lakes Isojärvi

Isojärvi (Satakunta)

Isojärvi is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the region of Satakunta in Western Finland and there in the municipalities of Pomarkku in south and Siikainen in north...

 and Inhottu in the Karvianjoki basin in the Satakunta region in western Finland both have two outlets: from Inhottu the waters flow into the Gulf of Bothnia trough Eteläjoki in Pori

Pori

Pori is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäenjoki river, which is the largest in Finland. Pori is the most important town in the Satakunta region....

 and into the lake Isojärvi trough the Pomarkunjoki River; and from the lake Isojärvi the waters flow to the Gulf of bothnia trough the Pohjajoki river in Pori and trough the Merikarvianjoki river in Merikarvia

Merikarvia

Merikarvia is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the Satakunta region.The municipality has a population of and it covers an area of , ofwhich is water...

. In the Karvianjoki basin there has formerly been also two other bifurcations which however no longer exist due to human action.

Lake Diefenbaker

Lake Diefenbaker

Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across the South Saskatchewan and Qu'Appelle Rivers respectively. Construction began in 1959 and the lake was filled in 1967. The lake is long with...

 is a reservoir created by damming South Saskatchewan River

South Saskatchewan River

The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan....

 and Qu'Appelle River

Qu'Appelle River

The Qu'Appelle River is a Canadian river that flows 430 km east from Lake Diefenbaker in southwestern Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near the village of St. Lazare....

. The lake continues to drain into the two rivers.

The largest lake in the world to drain naturally into two different oceans is also situated in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

: Wollaston Lake

Wollaston Lake

Wollaston Lake is located in northeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. With a surface area of 2286 km² , it is the largest lake in the world that drains naturally in two directions...

 is the source of Fond du Lac River

Fond du Lac River (Mackenzie River)

The Fond du Lac River is one of the upper branches of the Mackenzie River system, draining into the Arctic Ocean, located in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The river is long, has a watershed of , and its mean discharge is per second.-Hydrology:...

 draining into the Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...

 and of Cochrane River draining into Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

, part of the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.