The deepest lake in the world is also Asia’s largest freshwater lake, and the world’s largest freshwater lake by volume. Another 7+ km of sediment rests beneath the water. Lake Baikal is in the Baikal Rift Zone, the deepest of Earth’s continental rifts. There is lots of biodiversity in the lake, with more than […]
Four countries border Lake Tanganyika: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (45%), Tanzania (41%), Burundi, and Zambia. It is the second largest lake in Africa, after Lake Victoria, and is also located along the western portion of the Great Rift Valley, which stretches from Mozambique to Lebanon. Here the African Continental Plate is being […]
There is some debate about the Caspian Sea’s status as a lake. It is actually a remnant of the ancient Paratethys Sea, sandwiched between modern Anatolia and northern Asia, and part of the larger Tethys Ocean, which separated Africa and Eurasia. The salinity has decreased since becoming landlocked, and the Caspian Sea is now […]
Lake Vostok lies four kilometers beneath the ice sheet of Antarctica underneath Russia’s Vostok Station. It is the largest of 145 lakes that have been discovered beneath the ice sheet, approximately the size of Lake Ontario. Because of the massive pressure, it is possible for the water to remain in liquid form. It is […]
The deepest lake in the Americas straddles the border between Chile and Argentina. It is named for two heroes in southern South America’s struggle for independence from Spain: Bernardo O’Higgins of Chile and Jose de San Martin of Argentina. The lake consists of eight long, finger-like appendages that wind between the southern Andes Mountains and […]
Lake Malawi, also called Lake Nyasa, is the southernmost of Africa’s Great Lakes, though some definitions would leave it out. It is at the southern end of the Great Rift Valley. The lake is home to hundreds of species of fish, making it a hotspot for biodiversity. More species of fish live here than in […]
Issyk Kul means hot lake in Kyrgyz. Because the water is saline, the water does not freeze, despite the cold winters and its location in the mountains. The lake was an important stop on the Silk Road. Some historians believe it was here that the Black Death originated in the fourteenth century. It would […]
Located in Canada’s Northwest Territory hundreds of kilometers from the nearest population center, the Great Slave Lake is not a popular tourist destination. It’s the remnant of a huge post-glacial lake that once occupied this part of Canada. In winter, large tractor trailers drive across the frozen surface on ice roads.
By far the smallest lake on this list, Crater Lake covers a mere 53 square kilometers and has a watershed of 60 square kilometers. Around 7,000 years ago, Mount Mazama of the Cascade Range underwent a huge eruption, leaving a gaping 4,000 foot deep crater in its wake. Over time the crater filled with debris […]
Laka Matano is located in a remote part of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. Many species of fish call the lake home. It is in a beautiful location, surrounded by rainforest. It is also the site of one of the world’s largest nickel mines, which threatens the local environment.