These articles lists the world's deepest lakes .
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 . Of these lakes, 10 have a deepest point above sea level. These are Issyk-Kul , Crater Lake , Quesnel Lake , Sarez Lake , Lake Toba , Lake Tahoe , Lake Kivu , Nahuel Huapi Lake , Lake Van , and Lake Poso .
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 Capitán Prat Province (Chile) and 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 General Carrera Province (Chile) and 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 Capitán Prat Province (Chile) and 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 [ 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.[9] A reliable volume figure requires a bathymetric survey.[9] Therefore, mean depth figures are not available for many deep lakes in remote locations.[9] The average lake on Earth has the mean depth 41.8 meters (137.14 feet)[9]
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 have their entire basin above sea level.
This list contains all lakes whose mean depth is reliably known to exceed 100 metres (328 ft).
Name Country Region Depth (meters) (feet) 1. Baikal [1] Russia Southern Siberia 744.4 2,442 2. Tanganyika Tanzania Democratic Republic of the Congo Burundi Zambia African Great Lakes 570 1,870 3. Vostok [3] [10] Antarctica Under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet 432 1,417 4. General Carrera-Buenos Aires [6] Chile Argentina General Carrera Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
400
1,312
5. Crater [5] United States Oregon 352.8 1,157 6. Tahoe United States California and Nevada 307.6 1,009 7. Adams Canada British Columbia , (Shuswap ) 299 981 8. Malawi Malawi Mozambique Tanzania African Great Lakes 292 958 9. Tazawa Japan Honshu 280 919 10. Issyk Kul Kyrgyzstan Tien Shan Mountains 278.4 913 11. Shikotsu Japan Hokkaido 265.4
871
12. Crveno [7] Croatia Imotski Area 245
804
13. Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo Rwanda African Great Lakes 240 787 13. Matano [7] Indonesia Sulawesi 240 787 15. Hornindalsvatnet [7] Norway Vestland 237.6 780 16. Quilotoa Ecuador Cotopaxi Province 220
722
17. Toba [7] Indonesia Sumatra 216 707 18. Heaven China North Korea Jilin Province (China) and Ryanggang Province (North Korea) 213
699
19. (Caspian Sea [2] ) Kazakhstan Turkmenistan Azerbaijan Russia Iran Caspian Endorheic basin 211
692
20. Karakul Tajikistan Pamir Mountains 210 689 21. Sarez Tajikistan Gorno-Badakhshan 201.8 662 22. Kurile Russia Kamchatka Peninsula 195
640
23. Fagnano Argentina Chile Tierra del Fuego 193.8
636
24. Todos los Santos Chile Los Lagos Region 192.7
632
25. Lake Tinn [7] Norway Telemark 190 623 26. Dead Sea Jordan Palestine Israel Middle East 188.4
618
27. Llanquihue Chile Llanquihue Province and Osorno Province 183.7
603
28. Chapo Chile Los Lagos Region 183.1
601
29. Maggiore Italy Switzerland Lombardy , Piedmont (Italy) and Ticino (Switzerland) 177.4
582
30. Ranau Indonesia Sumatra 174 571 30. Teletskoye Russia Altai Mountains 174 571 32. Brienz Switzerland Bern 173
568
33. Lundevatnet [7] Norway Rogaland and Agder 172
564
34. Slocan Canada British Columbia , (West Kootenay ) 171 561 34. Van Turkey Eastern Anatolia Region 171
561
36. Te Anau New Zealand Southland , South Island 168.8
554
37. Lácar Argentina Neuquén Province 167
548
38. Riñihue Chile Valdivia Province 162
531
39. Nimpkish Canada British Columbia ,(Vancouver Island ) 161
528
40. Azure Canada British Columbia , (Wells Gray ) 157.2 516 41. Nahuel Huapi Argentina Río Negro Province and Neuquén Province 157
515
41. Quesnel Canada British Columbia , (Likely and Horsefly ) 157 515 43. Suldalsvatnet [7] Norway Rogaland 156
512
44. Argentino Argentina Santa Cruz Province 155.4
510
45. Ohrid North Macedonia Albania Balkans 155 508 45. Salvatnet [7] Norway Trøndelag 155
508
47. Atitlán [7] Guatemala Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre 154
505
47. Como [11] Italy Lombardy 154
505
49. Geneva [7] Switzerland France
Vaud , Geneva , Valais (Switzerland) and Haute-Savoie (France) 153.4 503 50. Jökulsárlón [7] Iceland Vatnajökull National Park 153
502
51. Harrison Canada British Columbia , (Coast Mountains ) 151.4
497
52. Mjøsa Norway Innlandet and Akershus 150
492
53. Menéndez Argentina Chubut Province 149.9
492
54. Manapouri New Zealand Southland , South Island 149
489
54. Singkarak Indonesia Western Sumatra 149 489 56. Lake Superior Canada United States Ontario (Canada) and Michigan , Minnesota , Wisconsin (United States) 147 482 57. Chelan United States Washington (state) 144
472
58. Huechulafquen Argentina Neuquén Province 142
466
58. Pend Oreille United States Idaho 142
466
60. Nemrut Turkey Bitlis Province 140
459
61. Storsjøen [7] Norway Innlandet 139
456
62. Khövsgöl Mongolia Nearby the, Eastern Sayan Mountains 138
453
63. Mashū Japan Hokkaido 137.5
451
64. Lonar India Deccan Plateau 137
449
64. Ørsdalsvatnet Norway Rogaland 137
449
66. Garda Italy Lombardy , Veneto and Trentino 136
446
66. Thun Switzerland Bern 136
446
68. Ikeda Japan Kyushu 135
443
69. Lugano Switzerland Italy Ticino (Switzerland) and Lombardy (Italy) 134
440
70. Loch Ness [7] United Kingdom Scotland , Caledonia 132 433 71. Oppstrynsvatnet [7] Norway Vestland 130.9
429
72. Wakatipu New Zealand Otago , South Island 130
427
73. Breimsvatnet [7] Norway Vestland 129
423
74. Mainit Philippines Mindanao 128
420
75. Yelcho Chile Palena Province 127.6
419
76. Great Central Canada British Columbia , (Vancouver Island ) 124 407 76. Iseo Italy Lombardy 124
407
78. Greve Chile Southern Patagonian Ice Field 123.3
405
79. Anderson Canada British Columbia , (Lillooet ) 121.7
399
80. Bandak [7] Norway Telemark 121
397
81. Fyresvatnet Norway Telemark 120
394
81. Kanas China Xinjiang , Altay Prefecture 120
394
81. Towuti Indonesia Southern Sulawesi 120
394
84. Garibaldi Canada British Columbia , (Coast Mountains ) 119 390 85. Toya [7] Japan Hokkaido 117
384
86. Hauroko New Zealand Southland , South Island 116.7
383
87. Mabel Canada British Columbia , (Shuswap ) 114
374
88. Poteriteri New Zealand Southland , South Island 113.1
371
89. Mascardi Argentina Río Negro Province 111
364
89. Puelo Argentina Chubut Province 111
364
91. Lake Taupō [7] New Zealand Waikato , North Island 110
360
92. Öskjuvatn [7] Iceland Highlands of Iceland 109
358
93. Chilko Canada British Columbia , (Chilcotin ) 108
354
94. Titicaca Peru Bolivia Puno Region (Peru) and La Paz Department (Bolivia) 107 351 95. Tatlayoko Canada British Columbia , (Chilcotin ) 106.4
349
96. Seton Canada British Columbia , (Lillooet ) 106.2
348
97. Gander Canada Newfoundland 105.4 346 98. Guinas Namibia Oshikoto Region , Tsumeb 105
344
98. Kauhakō Crater [12] [13] United States Hawaii , (Molokai ) 105 344 98. Maninjau Indonesia Central Sumatra 105
344
101. Walen Switzerland St. Gallen and Glarus 104.7
343
102. Lucerne Switzerland Central Switzerland 104
341
103. Rivadavia Argentina Chubut Province 103.7
340
104. Takla Canada British Columbia , (Mount Blanchet ) 103.1
338
105. Cochrane / Pueyrredón [6] Chile Argentina Capitán Prat Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina) 101.8
334
106. Clearwater [7] Canada British Columbia , (Wells Gray ) 101.6
333
107. Futalaufquen Argentina Chubut Province 101
331
108. Hāwea [7] New Zealand Otago , South Island 100.5
330
109. Nueltin [7] Canada Nunavut and Manitoba 100
328
109. Rara Nepal Karnali Province 100
328
109. Taal Philippines Southern Luzon 100
328
109. Viedma Argentina Santa Cruz Province 100
328
Greatest maximum depth by continent [ edit ] Africa — 1: Tanganyika , 2: Malawi , 3: Kivu Antarctica — 1: Radok (surface lake); Vostok (subglacial lake)[3] Asia — 1: Baikal , 2: Issyk Kul , 3: Matano Eurasia — 1: Baikal , 2: Caspian Sea , 3: Issyk Kul Europe — 1: Hornindalsvatnet , 2: Salvatnet , 3: Lake Tinn North America — 1: Great Slave , 2: Crater , 3: Quesnel Oceania — 1: Hauroko , 2: Manapouri , 3: Te Anau South America — 1: Viedma , 2: O'Higgins/San Martín , 3: General Carrera-Buenos Aires Greatest mean depth by continent [ edit ] Africa — 1: Tanganyika , 2: Malawi , 3: Kivu Antarctica — 1: Vostok [3] Asia — 1: Baikal , 2: Tazawa , 3: Issyk-Kul Europe — 1: Crveno , 2: Hornindalsvatnet , 3: Lake Tinn North America — 1: Crater , 2: Tahoe , 3: Adams Oceania — 1: Te Anau , 2: Manapouri , 3: Wakatipu South America — 1: General Carrera-Buenos Aires , 2: Quilotoa , 3: Fagnano 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ 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 ] ^ 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, C. R.; Gardner, J. V.; Mayer, L. A.; Buktenica, M. W.; Dartnell, P.; Ramsey, D. W.; Robinson, J. E. (2002). "Morphology, volcanism, and mass wasting in Crater Lake, Oregon" . GSA Bulletin . 114 (6): 675–692. Bibcode :2002GSAB..114..675B . doi :10.1130/0016-7606(2002)114<0675:MVAMWI>2.0.CO;2 . ISSN 0016-7606 . 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 ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x 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 . ^ 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 , 73 (2), Springer: 701–734, Bibcode :1984GeoRu..73..701D , doi :10.1007/BF01824978 , S2CID 128628465 ^ a b c d Cael, B. B.; Heathcote, A. J.; Seekell, D. A. (2017). "The volume and mean depth of Earth's lakes" . Geophysical Research Letters . 44 (1): 209–218. Bibcode :2017GeoRL..44..209C . doi :10.1002/2016GL071378 . hdl :1912/8822 . ISSN 1944-8007 . S2CID 132520745 . Archived from the original on 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 ] ^ Coombs, C. R.; Hawke, B. R.; Wilson, L. (1990), "Terrestrial analogs to lunar sinuous rilles - Kauhako Crater and channel, Kalaupapa, Molokai, and other Hawaiian lava conduit systems" , Lunar and Planetary Science Conference Proceedings , 20 : 195, Bibcode :1990LPSC...20..195C