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This page lists the world's deepest lakes.
Contents |
Lakes ranked by maximum depth
Currently, this list contains all lakes whose maximum depth is reliably known to exceed 400m.
Geologically, the Caspian Sea, like the Black, and Mediterranean seas, is a remnant of the ancient Tethys Ocean. The deepest area is oceanic rather than continental crust. However, it is generally regarded by geographers as a large endorheic salt lake.
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| Name | Country | Region | Depth (meters) |
Depth (feet) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Baikal[1] | Russia | Siberia | 1,637 | 5,369 |
| 2. | Tanganyika | Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia | Central Africa | 1,470 | 4,823 |
| 3. | (Caspian Sea[2]) | Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan | 1,025 | 3,363 | |
| 4. | Vostok[3] | Antarctica | >900 | >2,950 | |
| 5. | San Martín[4] | Chile, Argentina | Aysén (Chile), Santa Cruz (Argentina) | 836 | 2,742 |
| 6. | Nyasa[5] | Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi | 706 | 2,316 | |
| 7. | Issyk Kul | Kyrgyzstan | 668 | 2,192 | |
| 8. | Great Slave | Canada | Northwest Territories | 614 | 2,015 |
| 9. | Crater[6] | United States | Oregon | 594 | 1,949 |
| 10. | Matano | Indonesia | Sulawesi | 590 | 1,936 |
| 11. | General Carrera | Chile, Argentina | 586 | 1,923 | |
| 12. | Hornindalsvatnet | Norway | Sogn og Fjordane | 514 | 1,686 |
| 13. | Quesnel | Canada | British Columbia | 506 | 1,660 |
| 14= | Toba | Indonesia | Sumatra | 505 | 1,657 |
| 14= | Sarez | Tajikistan | 505 | 1,657 | |
| 16. | Tahoe | United States | California, Nevada | 501 | 1,644 |
| 17. | Argentino | Argentina | Santa Cruz (Patagonia) | 500 | 1,640 |
| 18. | Kivu | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda | 480 | 1,575 | |
| 19. | Mjøsa | Norway | Hedmark, Oppland and Akershus counties | 468 | 1,535 |
| 20. | Salsvatn | Norway | Nord-Trøndelag county | 464 | 1,523 |
| 21. | Hauroko | New Zealand | Southland (South Island) | 462 | 1,516 |
| 22. | Tinnsjå | Norway | Telemark county | 460 | 1,509 |
| 23. | Adams | Canada | British Columbia | 457 | 1,499 |
| 24. | Chelan | United States | Washington (state) | 453 | 1,486 |
| 25. | Van[7] | Turkey | 451 | 1,480 | |
| 26. | Poso | Indonesia | Sulawesi | 450 | 1,476 |
| 27. | Fagnano | Argentina, Chile | Tierra del Fuego | 449 | 1,473 |
| 28. | Great Bear | Canada | 446 | 1,463 | |
| 29. | Manapouri | New Zealand | Southland (South Island) | 444 | 1,457 |
| 30. | Nahuel Huapi | Argentina | 438 | 1,437 | |
| 31. | Te Anau | New Zealand | Southland (South Island) | 425 | 1,390 |
| 32. | Wakatipu | New Zealand | South Island | 420 | 1,378 |
| 33. | Como | Italy | 410 | 1,345 | |
| 34. | Superior | Canada, United States | 406 | 1,333 |
Lakes ranked by mean depth
Mean depth can be a more useful indicator than maximum depth for many ecological purposes. Unfortunately, accurate mean depth figures are only available for well-studied lakes, as they must be calculated by dividing the lake's volume by its surface area. A reliable volume figure requires a bathymetric survey. Therefore, mean depth figures are not available for many deep lakes in remote locations.
The Caspian Sea ranks much further down the list on mean depth, as it has a large continental shelf (is significantly larger than the oceanic basin that contains its greatest depths).
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| Name | Country | Region | Depth (meters) |
Depth (feet) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Baikal[1] | Russia | Siberia | 758 | 2,487 |
| 2. | Tanganyika | Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia | Africa | 570 | 1,870 |
| 3. | Crater[6] | United States | Oregon | 350 | 1,148 |
| 4. | Lake Vostok[3] | Antarctica | 344 | 1,129 | |
| 5. | Tahoe | United States | California, Nevada | 301 | 989 |
| 6. | Nyasa[5] | Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi | 292 | 958 | |
| 7. | Issyk Kul | Kyrgyzstan | 270 | 886 | |
| 8. | Kivu | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda | 240 | ||
| 9. | Kara-Kul | Tajikistan | 210 | 689 | |
| 10. | Sarez | Tajikistan | 201.8 | ||
| 11. | (Caspian Sea[2]) | Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan | 184 | 604 | |
| 12. | Quesnel | Canada | British Columbia | 157 | |
| 13. | Dead Sea | Jordan, Israel, Palestinian territories | 120 | 394 |
Greatest maximum depth by continent
- Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Nyasa, 3: Kivu
- Antarctica — 1: Vostok[3]
- Asia — 1: Baikal, (2: Caspian Sea), 3: Issyk Kul, (3: Matano)
- Europe — 1: Hornindalsvatnet, 2: Mjøsa, 3: Salsvatn
- North America — 1: Great Slave Lake, 2: Crater, 3: Quesnel
-
- Central America — 1: Atitlán, 2: Chicabal
- South America — 1: O'Higgins/San Martín, 2: General Carrera, 3: Argentino
Greatest mean depth by continent
- Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Nyasa, 3: Kivu
- Antarctica — 1: Vostok[3]
- Asia — 1: Baikal, 2: Issyk Kul, 3: Kara-Kul
- North America — 1: Crater, 2: Tahoe, 3: Quesnel
Notes
Note: Lake depths often vary depending on sources. The depths used here are the most reliable figures available in recent sources. See the articles on individual lakes for more details and data sources.
- ^ a b Lake Baikal is also the largest freshwater lake by volume.
- ^ a b The Caspian Sea is generally regarded by geographers, biologists and limnologists as a huge inland salt lake. However, the Caspian's large size means that for some purposes it is better modeled as a sea. Geologically, the Caspian, Black, and Mediterranean seas are remnants of the ancient Tethys Ocean. Politically, the distinction between a sea and a lake may affect how the Caspian is treated by international law.
- ^ a b c d Lake Vostok in Antarctica is a subglacial lake with a depth ranging from 400 to more than 900 meters.
- ^ *CECS, Depth sounding of Lake O'Higgins/San Martín
- ^ a b Lake Nyasa is also known as Lake Malawi
- ^ a b Crater Lake in Oregon has a maximum depth of 594m, based on its USGS benchmark surface elevation of 1883m. The US National Park Service publishes different values (1881m for surface elevation, and 592m for the maximum depth). The technical basis of the values determined by the USGS is documented in Bacon, et al. (2002) Morphology, volcanism, and mass wasting in Crater Lake, Oregon. GSA Bulletin 114:675-692.
- ^ Degens, E.T.; Wong, H.K.; Kempe, S.; Kurtman, F. (June 1984), "A geological study of Lake Van, eastern Turkey", International Journal of Earth Sciences (Springer) 73 (2): 701-734, doi:, http://www.springerlink.com/content/x5285613642v3665/
See also
Sources
External links
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