Lake Hylia

Lake Hylia (ハイリア湖, Hairia-ko) is the largest body of water in Hyrule, and is commonly relevant to the Zora people. It has appeared in a number of The Legend of Zelda games. It is possible that the Lake made its first appearance in the original Legend of Zelda as the large body of water found near the center of the overworld map, however since the lake is never referred to during the game, this cannot be confirmed.

A Link to the Past
Lake Hylia's first true appearance was in A Link to the Past, where it is located in southeast Hyrule, and has a network of small caves coming off it. In the center of the lake is an island featuring a Fairy Fountain that is inhabited by a Great Fairy who will upgrade Link's ability to carry bombs or arrows in exchange for Rupees. Outside the pond is a warp tile that grants access to the Ice Palace located in the Dark World's Lake Hylia, which is mostly frozen.

In addition, the Ice Rod item is found in a cave to the northeast of the lake, as is the Golden Bee, a bottles insect that can be unleashed to attack foes. The lake itself is fed from Zora's River, which in turn flows from Death Mountain.

Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, Lake Hylia is located to the south, and has three islands, a big one which contains the underwater Water Temple, a small one where Link obtains the Fire Arrows, and an even smaller one that houses a lone grave and connects two bridges. Link obtains Ruto's Letter in a bottle when he first visits Lake Hylia. Link can use the Iron Boots to sink to the bottom of the Lake to gain access to the Water Temple (the Zora Tunic is also recommended). On the shore of the lake there is the Lake Hylia Laboratory, which is home to an old man. Many Guays roam this place, which can make it very frustrating to try to get somewhere. Also on the shore of Lake Hylia there are two scarecrows named Pierre and Bonooru, the latter of which helps Link obtain the Scarecrow's Song. There is also a fishing hut, where Link can fish to his heart's content for only 20 Rupees a time. The lake is again fed by Zora's River, which provides a one-way connection to Gerudo Valley. The lake is also connected to Hyrule Field, and has a warp to Zora's Domain, which is shut when Link is an adult. After Ganondorf conquered Hyrule, he let Morpha drain the lake of water, but it was refilled after Link defeated the creature. After beating Morpha, Link can stand on a stone tablet above the Water Temple's entrance and shoot an arrow at the sun when it's rising to have the Fire Arrows appear on the small, lone island.

Four Swords Adventures
Lake Hylia is the first level of Four Swords Adventures. Unlike in the other games, where Lake Hylia is one massive lake, Lake Hylia is a series of small lakes connected by rivers. It is located in the east of Hyrule. Its boss is Chief Soldier.

Items found in this level:
 * Boomerang
 * Blue Bracelet
 * Fire Rod

The Minish Cap
In The Minish Cap, Lake Hylia is located in the east of Hyrule. The water enters the lake by a river from Veil Falls to the north. To the south is the Minish Woods, and to the west Lon Lon Ranch. Stockwell, the shop-owner from Hyrule Town, owns property here, and his dog Fifi lives there, as does Librari, the Minish elder of the Hyrule library. The lake's most important feature is the Temple of Droplets, a frozen Minish-sized temple which serves as the fourth dungeon.

Twilight Princess
In Twilight Princess, Lake Hylia is part of the Lanayru Province which is located in the east of Hyrule in the Wii version and in the west in the GameCube version. The lake is home to Lanayru's Spirit Spring, Fyer's Cannon Rides and Falbi's Flight-by-Fowl. It has changed much since its debut in A Link to the Past, and has been adapted to handle the rigors of Twilight Princess. The Lake is also home to the underwater Lakebed Temple, similar to the Water Temple, and with that, the final Fused Shadow that Link must collect to continue on this journey to rid the land of Hyrule of Twilight. The lake is again fed by Zora's River, which goes all the way to the throne room of Zora's Domain, where the water is said to come from. During Zant's invasion, he froze Zora's Domain, which in turn stopped the flow of water to Lake Hylia, though Link managed to refill it.

It is here that the final Light Tear is wrested from the Twilit Bloat, and the Spirit Lanayru is rejuvenated from the depths of the Spirit Spring. It is from here that Link accesses Gerudo Desert, using Fyer's cannon, after meeting up with Auru to learn of the demon within the Arbiter's Grounds. The Great Bridge of Hylia spans the lake from high above, and is the place where Link triumphs against King Bulblin in a makeshift jousting match. Lake Hylia is home to three Heart Pieces. He can also talk to a strange bird called Plumm as a wolf to play a little minigame.

Since Twilight Princess is a sequel to Ocarina of Time, similarities can be seen between the two Lake Hylias. For example, the Water Temple islet from Ocarina of Time is present in Twilight Princess, although the tree atop has long since died, and is in advanced stages of decay, and the Water Temple has been blocked off, with the entrance becoming Lanayru's Shrine. The lakeside laboratory has become part of Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication, and a bridge has been built from the area which, in Ocarina of Time, had featured numerous rock pillars and an entrance to Zora's Domain. This bridge, the Great Bridge of Hylia, links to the Water Temple islet, and over into the Faron province.

Trivia

 * In Ocarina of Time there are 3 claw marks on the tree by the warp pad that Link appears at after playing the Serenade of Water.
 * By entering Lake Hylia through the portal in Zora's Domain on Ocarina of Time, the establishing shot shown everywhere except Hyrule Market would be skipped until it was entered "properly".