- List of lakes by depth
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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 400 metres (1,300 ft)
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.
Continent colour key Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Antarctica 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 ~1,000 ~3,300 5. O'Higgins-San Martín[4] Chile, Argentina Aysén (Chile), Santa Cruz (Argentina) 836 2,742 6. Pinatubo Philippines Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales ~800 ~2,600 6. Malawi Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi 706 2,316 7. Issyk Kul Kyrgyzstan 668 2,192 8. Great Slave Canada Northwest Territories 614 2,015 9. Crater[5] 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 20= Nahuel Huapi Argentina Rio Negro, Patagonia 464 1,523 22. Hauroko New Zealand Southland (South Island) 462 1,516 23. Tinnsjø Norway Telemark county 460 1,509 24. Adams Canada British Columbia 457 1,499 25. Chelan United States Washington (state) 453 1,486 26. Van[6] Turkey 451 1,480 27. Poso Indonesia Sulawesi 450 1,476 28. Fagnano Argentina, Chile Tierra del Fuego 449 1,473 29. Great Bear Canada Northwest Territories 446 1,463 30. Manapouri New Zealand Southland (South Island) 444 1,457 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 United States, Canada Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario 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 (significantly larger than the oceanic basin that contains its greatest depths).
Continent colour key Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Antarctica Name Country Region Depth
(meters)Depth
(feet)1. Baikal[1] Russia Siberia 758 2,487 2. Pinatubo Philippines Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales ~600 ~2,000 2. Tanganyika Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia Africa 570 1,870 3. Crater[5] United States Oregon 350 1,148 4. Vostok[3] Antarctica 344 1,129 5. Tahoe United States California, Nevada 301 989 6. Malawi Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi 292 958 7. Issyk Kul Kyrgyzstan 270 886 8. Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda 240 787 9. Karakul Tajikistan 210 689 10. Sarez Tajikistan 202 662 11. (Caspian Sea[2]) Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan 184 604 12. Ranau Indonesia Sumatra 174 571 13. Quesnel Canada British Columbia 157 515 14. Ohrid Macedonia, Albania 155 508 15. Singkarak Indonesia West Sumatra 149 489 16. Dead Sea Jordan, Israel, Palestinian territories 118 387 17. Gander Canada Newfoundland 105 346 Greatest maximum depth by continent
- Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 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
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- 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: Malawi, 3: Kivu
- Antarctica — 1: Vostok[3]
- Asia — 1: Baikal, 2: Issyk Kul, 3: Karakul
- 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 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:10.1007/BF01824978, http://www.springerlink.com/content/x5285613642v3665/
See also
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