7 Deepest Lakes in the World, Some Are Over 1,000 Meters Deep
The deepest lake in the world
1. Lake Baikal (1,620 meters)
Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake that holds more than 20 percent of the fresh water that is not frozen on the Earth's surface. Lake Baikal is also the oldest freshwater lake in the world with an estimated age of 20 million to 25 million years.
Baikal is a habitat for a large number of animal and plant species that cannot be found anywhere else. One of the most popular is the Baikal seal or nerpa, the only species of seal that lives exclusively in freshwater habitats.
2. Lake Tanganyika (1,436 meters)
Lake Tanganyika is the second deepest lake in the world. This freshwater lake is located in Zambia, Burundi, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lake Tanganyika is a relatively long and narrow lake with extraordinary biodiversity. Unfortunately, modern commercial fishing practices since the 1950s have contributed to overfishing.
3. Caspian Sea (1,025 meters)
The Caspian Sea is the third deepest lake in the world located between the Caucasus Mountains and the Steppes of Central Asia. The northern third of the Caspian Sea is very shallow, with an average depth of about 6 meters, but the southern third is about 300 meters deep.
Today, commercial fishing and tourism to the Caspian coast play an important role for the economies of the surrounding countries.
4. Lake Vostok (900 meters)
Lake Vostok in Antarctica is a unique lake because it is under almost 4 km of ice. It is the largest known subglacial lake.
Since the 1970s, scientists have suspected large amounts of fresh water trapped beneath the ice at the site.
Finally, in 1996, British and Russian researchers were able to provide precise measurements using ice-penetrating radar.
Until recently, the biological activity in Lake Vostok remained a mystery as there was no way to collect samples or place sensors under the ice.
5. Lake O'Higgins/San Martin (836 meters)
The world's fifth deepest lake, Lake O'Higgins/San Martin, is located in the sparsely populated Patagonian Andes region. The lake is located on the border of Argentina and Chile.
The source of this lake water comes from the O'Higgins Glacier which flows from the west.
6. Lake Nyasa (706 meters)
Lake Nyasa is a long lake that stretches for more than 560 km along the borders of Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi.
Lake Nyasa has a depth and temperature stratification that creates a number of very different environments that have an extraordinary level of biodiversity.
7. Lake Ysyk (668 meters)
One of the deepest lakes in the world is located at an altitude of 1,606 meters in the mountains of Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan. Danay Ysyk has long been a place of human activity.
Gold and bronze artifacts belonging to the Scythians, the earliest inhabitants of Kyrgyzstan, have been found nearby. The depth of the lake and its archaeological wealth have led scientists to carry out various research expeditions to Lake Ysyk.
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