List of lakes by depth

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 &100000000000016370000001,637 &100000000000053690000005,369
2. Tanganyika Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia Central Africa &100000000000014700000001,470 &100000000000048230000004,823
3. (Caspian Sea[2]) Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan &100000000000010250000001,025 &100000000000033630000003,363
4. Vostok[3] Antarctica ~&100000000000010000000001,000 ~&100000000000033000000003,300
5. O'Higgins-San Martín[4] Chile, Argentina Aysén (Chile), Santa Cruz (Argentina) &10000000000000836000000836 &100000000000027420000002,742
6. Pinatubo Philippines Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales ~&10000000000000800000000800 ~&100000000000026000000002,600
6. Malawi Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi &10000000000000706000000706 &100000000000023160000002,316
7. Issyk Kul Kyrgyzstan &10000000000000668000000668 &100000000000021920000002,192
8. Great Slave Canada Northwest Territories &10000000000000614000000614 &100000000000020150000002,015
9. Crater[5] United States Oregon &10000000000000594000000594 &100000000000019490000001,949
10. Matano Indonesia Sulawesi &10000000000000590000000590 &100000000000019360000001,936
11. General Carrera Chile, Argentina &10000000000000586000000586 &100000000000019230000001,923
12. Hornindalsvatnet Norway Sogn og Fjordane &10000000000000514000000514 &100000000000016860000001,686
13. Quesnel Canada British Columbia &10000000000000506000000506 &100000000000016600000001,660
14= Toba Indonesia Sumatra &10000000000000505000000505 &100000000000016570000001,657
14= Sarez Tajikistan &10000000000000505000000505 &100000000000016570000001,657
16. Tahoe United States California, Nevada &10000000000000501000000501 &100000000000016440000001,644
17. Argentino Argentina Santa Cruz (Patagonia) &10000000000000500000000500 &100000000000016400000001,640
18. Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda &10000000000000480000000480 &100000000000015750000001,575
19. Mjøsa Norway Hedmark, Oppland and Akershus counties &10000000000000468000000468 &100000000000015350000001,535
20= Salsvatn Norway Nord-Trøndelag county &10000000000000464000000464 &100000000000015230000001,523
20= Nahuel Huapi Argentina Rio Negro, Patagonia &10000000000000464000000464 &100000000000015230000001,523
22. Hauroko New Zealand Southland (South Island) &10000000000000462000000462 &100000000000015160000001,516
23. Tinnsjø Norway Telemark county &10000000000000460000000460 &100000000000015090000001,509
24. Adams Canada British Columbia &10000000000000457000000457 &100000000000014990000001,499
25. Chelan United States Washington (state) &10000000000000453000000453 &100000000000014860000001,486
26. Van[6] Turkey &10000000000000451000000451 &100000000000014800000001,480
27. Poso Indonesia Sulawesi &10000000000000450000000450 &100000000000014760000001,476
28. Fagnano Argentina, Chile Tierra del Fuego &10000000000000449000000449 &100000000000014730000001,473
29. Great Bear Canada Northwest Territories &10000000000000446000000446 &100000000000014630000001,463
30. Manapouri New Zealand Southland (South Island) &10000000000000444000000444 &100000000000014570000001,457
31. Te Anau New Zealand Southland (South Island) &10000000000000425000000425 &100000000000013900000001,390
32. Tazawa Japan Akita Prefecture &10000000000000423000000423 &100000000000013870000001,387
33. Wakatipu New Zealand South Island &10000000000000420000000420 &100000000000013780000001,378
34. Como Italy &10000000000000410000000410 &100000000000013450000001,345
34. Superior United States, Canada Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario &10000000000000406000000406 &100000000000013330000001,333

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 &10000000000000758000000758 &100000000000024870000002,487
2. Pinatubo Philippines Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales ~&10000000000000600000000600 ~&100000000000020000000002,000
2. Tanganyika Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia Africa &10000000000000570000000570 &100000000000018700000001,870
3. Crater[5] United States Oregon &10000000000000350000000350 &100000000000011480000001,148
4. Vostok[3] Antarctica &10000000000000344000000344 &100000000000011290000001,129
5. Tahoe United States California, Nevada &10000000000000301000000301 &10000000000000989000000989
6. Malawi Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi &10000000000000292000000292 &10000000000000958000000958
7. Issyk Kul Kyrgyzstan &10000000000000270000000270 &10000000000000886000000886
8. Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda &10000000000000240000000240 &10000000000000787000000787
9. Karakul Tajikistan &10000000000000210000000210 &10000000000000689000000689
10. Sarez Tajikistan &10000000000000202000000202 &10000000000000662000000662
11. (Caspian Sea[2]) Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan &10000000000000184000000184 &10000000000000604000000604
12. Ranau Indonesia Sumatra &10000000000000174000000174 &10000000000000571000000571
13. Quesnel Canada British Columbia &10000000000000157000000157 &10000000000000515000000515
14. Ohrid Macedonia, Albania &10000000000000155000000155 &10000000000000508000000508
15. Singkarak Indonesia West Sumatra &10000000000000149000000149 &10000000000000489000000489
16. Dead Sea Jordan, Israel, Palestinian territories &10000000000000118000000118 &10000000000000387000000387
17. Gander Canada Newfoundland &10000000000000105000000105 &10000000000000346000000346

Greatest maximum depth by continent

Greatest mean depth by continent

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.

  1. ^ a b Lake Baikal is also the largest freshwater lake by volume.
  2. ^ 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 small oceans, remnants of the ancient Teythys. Politically, the distinction between a sea and a lake may affect how the Caspian is treated by international law.
  3. ^ a b c d Lake Vostok in Antarctica is a subglacial lake with a depth ranging from 400 to more than 900 meters.
  4. ^ *CECS, Depth sounding of Lake O'Higgins/San Martín
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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

Sources

External links