Why don't lakes usually experience significant tides?

Hijakr

They are not large enough. Tides are generated by the gravitational pull of the moon. Gravity is proportional to the mass of the two objects). Therefore if the body of water is smaller, the gravitational force acting on it would be smaller and the tides not as significant. Dec 08 03, 9:32 PM

Gnomon

Hjakr is right that lakes are not big enough, but the explanation is not quite right. Tides are caused by the fact that some parts of the sea are further from the moon than others, and therefore experience a different pull from the Moon's gravity. It is this difference in the pull at the two ends of a sea that cause the tide. Lakes are small enough that the two ends of the lake are almost exactly the same distance from the moon, so they both experience the same pull, so there is no tide. Dec 09 03, 2:52 AM

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