10 Deepest Lakes in the World

The lake can be found everywhere; in mountainous regions, basins, areas of melting glaciers and rift zones. They have been formed by glacial movements, landslides, ice dams, sinkholes, and volcanic eruptions. Depending on where exactly they are located, the lakes vary in volume, area, and depth.

If you've ever wondered which lakes were the deepest, these are the 10 deepest lakes in the world.

1. Lake Baikal (Russia)

Its name derives from the Tatar "Bai-Kul" - "rich lake". It is also known as the Blue Eye of Siberia and The Pearl of Asia due to the quality of its waters, which were one of the best on the planet and are currently losing due to pollution.

With an area of ​​31,494 km², 636 km long, 80 km wide and 1,637 m deep, it is the largest freshwater lake in Asia and the deepest in the world. It contains 23,000 km³ of water, equivalent to 20% of the fresh water on the entire planet.

2. Lake Tanganyika (Central Africa)

It is the second-largest lake on the continent in terms of surface area, although the deepest and most voluminous. It extends for 673 km in a north-south direction and is, on average, about 50 km wide. 

The lake covers 32,900 km², with a shoreline of 1,828 km and an average depth of 570 m and a maximum of 1,470 m. It contains about 18,900 km³ of water.

3. Caspian Sea (Central Asia)

Its surface is 371,000 km², its average depth is 170 m and the maximum is 995 m. It is mainly fed by the Volga river and by other less mighty ones such as the Ural, the Emba and the Kura.

4. Lake Vostok (Antarctica)

It is located below the Russian Vostok base, 4,000 m below the surface of the central Antarctic ice sheet, totally isolated from the outside and protected from the atmosphere. It is 250 km long by 50 km wide and is divided into two deep trenches by a mountain range. Lake Vostok covers an area of ​​15,690 km² and has an estimated volume of 5,400 km³ of fresh water. In May 2005, an island was found in the centre of the lake.

5. Lake O'Higgins/San Martin (Argentina and Chile)

It is located in Patagonia and is shared by Argentina and Chile. The lake is known in each country by the name of the respective liberators: in Argentina, it is known as Lake San Martín in honour of José de San Martín, while in Chile it is called Lake O'Higgins in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins. Both names are correct internationally.

The lake has an area of ​​1,013 km² and is located 285 m high in the Patagonian Andes. Of its total area, 554 km² are in the Chilean Region XI of Aisén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo and the remaining 459 km² belong to the Argentine province of Santa Cruz.

6. Lake Malawi (Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania)

It is about 560 kilometers long and 75 wide, with a total area of ​​approximately 29,600 km².

7.  Lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan)

Lake Issyk-Kul (also called Ysyk Köl or Issyk-kol) is located in northeastern Kyrgyzstan. It measures 182 km in length, and 60 km in width, with a total area of ​​6,280 km², which makes it the second largest mountain lake in the world, only behind Lake Titicaca, located in the Andes. Its average height is 1620 m above sea level, and its maximum depth is 702 m.

8. The Great Slave Lake (Canada)

It covers 11,000 km² and is located in the Northwest Territories of Canada and is 2,015 feet deep, making it the deepest lake in North America. Due to the low temperatures in the area, for about eight months of the year, the lake is partially frozen, while during the winter, the ice layer is so thick that trailer trucks can drive over it.

9. Crater Lake (United States)

With a violent volcanic past, located in the state of Oregon, United States, it is a place of immeasurable beauty. With surrounding cliffs up to two thousand feet high, two small islands, and spectacular blue waters, make this "outdoor laboratory" the perfect spot for photographers.

Crater Lake is the deepest in the United States with a depth of 1949 feet. You can also have some of the purest water in North America, (in terms of the absence of persistent organic pollutants).

10. Lake Matano (Indonesia)

With a depth of 1,936 feet, Lake Matano is famous for its crystal clear waters and the many species of fish that have emerged from a single ancestor that has diversified over time.

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