List of lakes by depth

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This page lists the world's deepest lakes.

Contents

Lakes ranked by maximum depth [edit]

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 70031637000000000001,637 70035369000000000005,369
2. Tanganyika Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia Central Africa 70031470000000000001,470 70034823000000000004,823
3. (Caspian Sea[2]) Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan 70031025000000000001,025 70033363000000000003,363
4. Vostok[3] Antarctica 7003100000000000000~1,000 7003330000000000000~3,300
5. O'Higgins-San Martín[4] Chile, Argentina Aysén (Chile), Santa Cruz (Argentina) 7002836000000000000836 70032742000000000002,742
6. Malawi Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi 7002706000000000000706 70032316000000000002,316
7. Issyk Kul Kyrgyzstan 7002668000000000000668 70032192000000000002,192
8. Great Slave Canada Northwest Territories 7002614000000000000614 70032015000000000002,015
9. Crater[5] United States Oregon 7002594000000000000594 70031949000000000001,949
10. Matano Indonesia Sulawesi 7002590000000000000590 70031936000000000001,936
11. General Carrera-Buenos Aires Chile, Argentina 7002586000000000000586 70031923000000000001,923
12. Hornindalsvatnet Norway Sogn og Fjordane 7002514000000000000514 70031686000000000001,686
13. Quesnel Canada British Columbia 7002506000000000000506 70031660000000000001,660
14= Toba Indonesia Sumatra 7002505000000000000505 70031657000000000001,657
14= Sarez Tajikistan 7002505000000000000505 70031657000000000001,657
16. Tahoe United States California, Nevada 7002501000000000000501 70031644000000000001,644
17. Argentino Argentina Santa Cruz (Patagonia) 7002500000000000000500 70031640000000000001,640
18. Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda 7002480000000000000480 70031575000000000001,575
19. Mjøsa Norway Hedmark, Oppland and Akershus counties 7002468000000000000468 70031535000000000001,535
20= Salsvatn Norway Nord-Trøndelag county 7002464000000000000464 70031523000000000001,523
20= Nahuel Huapi Argentina Rio Negro, Patagonia 7002464000000000000464 70031523000000000001,523
22. Hauroko New Zealand Southland (South Island) 7002462000000000000462 70031516000000000001,516
23. Tinnsjø Norway Telemark county 7002460000000000000460 70031509000000000001,509
24. Adams Canada British Columbia 7002457000000000000457 70031499000000000001,499
25. Chelan United States Washington (state) 7002453000000000000453 70031486000000000001,486
26. Van[6] Turkey 7002451000000000000451 70031480000000000001,480
27. Poso Indonesia Sulawesi 7002450000000000000450 70031476000000000001,476
28. Fagnano Argentina, Chile Tierra del Fuego 7002449000000000000449 70031473000000000001,473
29. Great Bear Canada Northwest Territories 7002446000000000000446 70031463000000000001,463
30. Manapouri New Zealand Southland (South Island) 7002444000000000000444 70031457000000000001,457
31. Te Anau New Zealand Southland (South Island) 7002425000000000000425 70031390000000000001,390
32. Tazawa Japan Akita Prefecture 7002423000000000000423 70031387000000000001,387
33. Wakatipu New Zealand South Island 7002420000000000000420 70031378000000000001,378
34. Como Italy 7002410000000000000410 70031345000000000001,345
35. Superior Canada, United States Ontario, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin 7002406000000000000406 70031333000000000001,333

Lakes ranked by mean depth [edit]

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

Teletskoye (Russia), mean depth being 175 m

Name Country Region Depth
(meters)		 Depth
(feet)
1. Baikal[1] Russia Siberia 7002758000000000000758 70032487000000000002,487
2. Tanganyika Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia Africa 7002570000000000000570 70031870000000000001,870
3. Crater[5] United States Oregon 7002350000000000000350 70031148000000000001,148
4. Vostok[3] Antarctica 7002344000000000000344 70031129000000000001,129
5. Tahoe United States California, Nevada 7002301000000000000301 7002989000000000000989
6. Malawi Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi 7002292000000000000292 7002958000000000000958
7. Issyk Kul Kyrgyzstan 7002270000000000000270 7002886000000000000886
8= Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda 7002240000000000000240 7002787000000000000787
8= Matano[7] Indonesia Sulawesi 7002240000000000000240 7002787000000000000787
10. Hornindalsvatnet[7] Norway Sogn og Fjordane 7002237000000000000237 7002778000000000000778
11. Toba[7] Indonesia Sumatra 7002216000000000000216 7002707000000000000707
12. Karakul Tajikistan 7002210000000000000210 7002689000000000000689
13. Sarez Tajikistan 7002202000000000000202 7002662000000000000662
14. (Caspian Sea[2]) Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan 7002184000000000000184 7002604000000000000604
15. Ranau Indonesia Sumatra 7002174000000000000174 7002571000000000000571
16. Quesnel Canada British Columbia 7002157000000000000157 7002515000000000000515
17. Ohrid Macedonia, Albania 7002155000000000000155 7002508000000000000508
18. Geneva[7] Switzerland, France 7002153000000000000153 7002502000000000000502
19. Singkarak Indonesia West Sumatra 7002149000000000000149 7002489000000000000489
20.[7] Loch Ness United Kingdom Scotland 7002133000000000000133 7002436000000000000436
21. Dead Sea Jordan, Israel 7002118000000000000118 7002387000000000000387
22. Titicaca Peru, Bolivia 7002107000000000000107 7002351000000000000351
23. Gander Canada Newfoundland 7002105000000000000105 7002346000000000000346

Greatest maximum depth by continent [edit]

Greatest mean depth by continent [edit]

Notes [edit]

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 Tethys. 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 
  7. ^ a b c d e Walter K. Dodds; Matt R. Whiles (23 September 2010). Freshwater Ecology: Concepts and Environmental Applications of Limnology. Academic Press. pp. 141–142. ISBN 978-0-12-374724-2. Retrieved 22 February 2012. 

See also [edit]

Sources [edit]

External links [edit]

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