Though Hyrule changes throughout its many eras depicted in The Legend of Zelda games, certain landmarks are near constant. In may of the series' entries, the largest body of water is called Lake Hylia, and is typically an area that Link must visit multiple times. Lake Hylia has a long tradition of being in Zelda games, appearing in the original The Legend of Zelda from 1986. Just as the Zelda series' narratives share many common elements, Lake Hylia often remains fairly similar throughout the ages of Hyrule.
There are eight The Legend of Zelda games that feature Lake Hylia: The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess, A Link Between Worlds, and Breath of the Wild. The other games in the series don't have a Lake Hylia because they either don't take place in Hyrule (like Majora's Mask in Termina or Spirit Tracks in New Hyrule), Hyrule is flooded (Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass), or the lakes in the game are simply unnamed (The Adventure of Link).
An odd one is Skyward Sword, which has a large lake called Lake Floria instead. Perhaps this is because of Skyward Sword's place on the Zelda timeline, where Hylians aren't currently living on the surface, so the lake hasn't yet been named after the Goddess Hylia. This explanation seems to be contradicted by Lake Floria's presence in Breath of the Wild, so perhaps Link just didn't find a Lake Hylia in Skyward Sword.
The Legend Of Zelda's Lake Hylia Changes Very Little
From one game to another, Lake Hylia certainly looks different, and is sometimes in a different geographical location to other landmarks, but player should typically know what to expect after visiting just one Lake Hylia. Link can usually explore the water, though some games will require a special item for this express purpose. There are also collectibles typically found around the Lake, especially in Breath of the Wild, where many chests can be found either floating if wooden, or sunk if metal.
As an important location in each game, Lake Hylia typically features at least one dungeon. BOTW and Four Swords Adventures are the exception, since neither include traditional dungeons. While A Link Between Worlds has a dungeon in Lake Hylia, it also features one in its Lorule counterpart, Lorule Lake. While A Link to the Past has the most dungeons in the Zelda series, its Lake Hylia does not have one, but the Dark World's Ice Lake does.
Each Lake Hylia, in classic Zelda fashion, has a few enemies which will attack Link if he wanders too near. Interestingly, four of the games - The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Four Swords Adventures, and A Link Between Worlds - have hostile Zoras at Lake Hylia. Zoras apparently started the series as common enemies, before becoming one of Zelda's fictional humanoid races. This could partly be attributed to TLoZ, ALttP, and ALBW taking place on the timeline in which the Hero of Time fails to stop Ganon, perhaps contributing to the downfall of Zora society. Four Swords Adventures seems to not have any reason, though, since it takes place after Twilight Princess (which has friendly Zora) on a separate timeline.
Lake Hylia may look different between Zelda games owing to different art styles and designs, but each feels rather familiar. Islands and bridges are found in many, with dungeons even more common. Link typically has to visit Lake Hylia multiple times, with portions sometimes locked behind game progression. In the end, Lake Hylia is emblematic of The Legend of Zelda itself, a series that shifts based on its various parts, but still maintains a recognizable identity.