I recently started surfing and really like it! 
I've always wanted to try myself.  When I was younger, there was this lake that was surprisingly suitable for surfing nearby.
What made it suitable for surfing? 
I guess you can say that the waves were artificial, being created by the water falling out from this hydroelectric damn that fed this lake.
I haven't heard of artificial waves, are they different than regularly occurring waves? 
Maybe.  These were caused by the displacement of water from the turbines in the dam, so if it was turned off for whatever reason, there were no waves.
Do they turn it off often? I would hate to be out there and no waves on my day off.
boarding, when a surfer rides a wave on a bodyboard, either lying on their belly, drop knee, or sometimes even standing up on a body board. Other types of surfing include knee boarding, surf matting (riding inflatable mats), and using foils. Body surfing, where the wave is surfed without a board, using the surfer's own body to catch and ride the wave, is very common and is considered by some to be the purest form of surfing.
Three major subdivisions within stand-up
Surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which the wave rider, referred to as a surfer, rides on the forward or face of a moving wave, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found in the ocean, but can also be found in lakes or rivers in the form of a standing wave or tidal bore. However, surfers can also utilize artificial waves such as those from boat wakes and the waves created in artificial wave pools.
The term "surfing"