List of lakes by depth
These articles lists the world's deepest lakes.
Lakes ranked by maximum depth
This list contains all lakes whose maximum depth is reliably known to exceed 400 metres (1,300 ft)
Geologically, the
Continent color key | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Africa | Antarctica | Asia | Eurasia | Europe | North America | Oceania | South America |
Name | Country | Region | Depth | Depth2/area | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(meters) | (feet) | |||||
1. | Baikal[1] | Russia | Southern Siberia | 1,642 | 5,387 | 9.22×10 −6 |
2. | Tanganyika | Tanzania Democratic Republic of the Congo Burundi Zambia |
African Great Lakes | 1,470 | 4,823 | 8.1×10 −6 |
3. | (Caspian Sea[2]) | Kazakhstan Turkmenistan Azerbaijan Russia Iran |
Caspian Endorheic basin | 1,025 | 3,363 | 1.68×10 −6 |
4. | Viedma | Argentina | Santa Cruz Province |
~900 |
~2953 |
N/D |
4. | Vostok[3] | Antarctica | Under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet | ~900 | ~2953 | 8.94×10 −6 |
6. | O'Higgins-San Martín[4] | Chile Argentina |
Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
|
836 | 2,742 | 2.63×10 −5 |
7. | Malawi | Malawi Mozambique Tanzania |
African Great Lakes | 706 | 2,316 | 4.1×10 −6 |
8. | Issyk Kul
|
Kyrgyzstan | Tien Shan Mountains
|
668 | 2,192 | 8.46×10 −6 |
9. | Great Slave | Canada | Northwest Territories | 614 | 2,015 | 3.72×10 −6 |
10. | Crater[5] | United States | Oregon | 594 | 1,949 | 8.16×10 −5 |
11. | Matano | Indonesia | Southern Sulawesi | 590 | 1,936 | 4.61×10 −5 |
12. | General Carrera-Buenos Aires[6]
|
Chile Argentina |
Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
|
586 | 1,923 | 1.36×10 −5 |
13. | Hornindalsvatnet | Norway | Vestland | 514 | 1,686 | 7.2×10 −5 |
14. | Quesnel | Canada | British Columbia | 511 | 1,677 | 3.13×10 −5 |
15. | Sarez | Tajikistan | Gorno-Badakhshan | 505 | 1,657 | 5.66×10 −5 |
15. | Toba | Indonesia | Sumatra | 505 | 1,657 | 1.5×10 −5 |
17. | Tahoe | United States | California and Nevada | 501 | 1,645 | 2.26×10 −5 |
18. | Argentino
|
Argentina | Santa Cruz Province
|
500 | 1,640 | 1.33×10 −5 |
19. | Salvatnet | Norway | Trøndelag |
482 |
1,581 |
6.93×10 −5 |
20. | Kivu | Democratic Republic of the Congo Rwanda |
African Great Lakes | 480 | 1,575 | 9.24×10 −6 |
21. | Grand Lake[7] | Canada | Newfoundland
|
475 |
1,558 |
N/D |
22. | Nahuel Huapi | Argentina | Río Negro Province and Neuquén Province | 464 | 1,523 | 2.02×10 −5 |
23. | Hauroko | New Zealand | Southland (South Island) | 462 | 1,516 | 5.82×10 −5 |
24. | Cochrane / Pueyrredón[6] | Chile Argentina |
Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
|
460 | 1,509 | 2.55×10 −5 |
24. | Seton | Canada | British Columbia |
460 |
1,509 |
N/D |
24. | Lake Tinn
|
Norway | Telemark | 460 | 1,509 | 6.41×10 −5 |
27. | Adams | Canada | British Columbia | 457 | 1,499 | 3.9×10 −5 |
28. | Chelan | United States | Washington (state) | 453 | 1,486 | 3.9×10 −5 |
28. | Mjøsa
|
Norway | Innlandet and Akershus |
453 |
1,486 |
2.33×10 −5 |
30. | Van[8] | Turkey | Eastern Anatolia Region | 451 | 1,480 | 7.36×10 −6 |
31. | Poso | Indonesia | Sulawesi | 450 | 1,476 | 2.5×10 −5 |
32. | Fagnano
|
Argentina Chile |
Tierra del Fuego | 449 | 1,473 | 1.77×10 −5 |
33. | Great Bear | Canada | Northwest Territories | 446 | 1,463 | 2.53×10 −6 |
34. | Manapouri | New Zealand | Southland (South Island) | 444 | 1,457 | 3.73×10 −5 |
35. | Como | Italy | Lombardy | 425 | 1,394 | 3.52×10 −5 |
35. | Te Anau | New Zealand | Southland (South Island) | 425 | 1,394 | 2.29×10 −5 |
37. | Tazawa | Japan | Akita Prefecture (Honshu) | 423 | 1,387 | 8.31×10 −5 |
38. | Khantayskoye | Russia | Krasnoyarsk Krai |
420 |
1,378 |
N/D |
38. | Wakatipu | New Zealand | Otago (South Island)
|
420 | 1,378 | 2.47×10 −5 |
40. | Colico
|
Chile | Araucanía Region |
416 |
1,365 |
N/D |
41. | Grey | Chile | Magallanes Region |
410 |
1,345 |
N/D |
42. | Superior | Canada United States |
Ontario (Canada) and Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin (United States) | 406 | 1,332 | 1.42×10 −6 |
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.
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).
Of the 112 registered lakes; 58 are known to be cryptodepressions. These include: Vostok[3][10] (subglacial surface), (Caspian Sea[2]) (subsea surface), Dead Sea (subsea surface) and Jökulsárlón[7] (glacial lagoon estuary). The remaining: 54 lakes got their whole basins above the sea level.
This list contains all lakes whose mean depth is reliably known to exceed 100 metres (328 ft).
Continent colour key | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Africa | Antarctica | Asia | Eurasia | Europe | North America | Oceania | South America |
Greatest maximum depth by continent
- Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: Kivu
- Antarctica — 1: Radok (surface lake); Vostok (subglacial lake)[3]
- Issyk Kul, 3: Matano
- Issyk Kul
- Lake Tinn
- North America — 1: Great Slave, 2: Crater, 3: Quesnel
- Chicabal
- Oceania — 1: Hauroko, 2: Manapouri, 3: Te Anau
- General Carrera-Buenos Aires
Greatest mean depth by continent
- Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: Kivu
- Antarctica — 1: Vostok[3]
- Asia — 1: Baikal, 2: Tazawa, 3: Issyk-Kul
- Lake Tinn
- North America — 1: Crater, 2: Tahoe, 3: Adams
- Oceania — 1: Te Anau, 2: Manapouri, 3: Wakatipu
- Fagnano
See also
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.
- ^ 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 small oceans, remnants of the ancient Tethys. Politically, the distinction between a sea and a lake may affect how the Caspian is treated by international law.
- ^ a b c d e Lake Vostok in Antarctica is a subglacial lake with a depth ranging from 510 to 900 meters.
- ^ *CECS, Depth sounding of Lake O'Higgins/San Martín[permanent dead link]
- ^ OCLC 4642976847, 196656627. Retrieved 2013-07-08. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c d Murdie, Ruth E.; Pugh, David T.; Styles, Peter; Muñoz, Miguel (1999), "Heatflow, Temperature and Bathymetry of Lago General Carrera and Lago Cochrane, Southern Chile" (PDF), Extended Extracts of the Fourth International Symposium on Andean Geodynamics, Gottingen, Germany 04-06/10/1999, Paris: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, pp. 539–542
- ^ ISBN 978-0-12-374724-2. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- S2CID 128628465
- ^ S2CID 132520745. Archived from the originalon 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
- ^ a b Dow, Christine; McCormack, Felicity; Cook, Sue (July 17, 2016). "What Lies Beneath Antarctica's Ice? Lakes, Life and the Grandest of Canyons". The Conversation. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ Buzzi (1997), Documento dell'Istitutoitaliano di idrobiologia
- ^ Maciolek, J. A. (April 30, 1982), Lakes and Lake-like Waters of the Hawaiian Archipelago (PDF), Occasional Papers of Berenice P. Bishop Museum, vol. 25[permanent dead link]
- Bibcode:1990LPSC...20..195C