Break out your scuba gear as we discover 11 deepest lakes in the world.
When we talk about lakes, depth isn’t something that is regularly considered. However, these 11 lakes redefined a term “murky depths”, their deepest points ranging from 1,923 feet of General Carrera-Buenos Aires Lake to the incredible 5,387 feet of Russia’s Baikal Lake. That means you can plop a pretty sizeable mountain in it and it wouldn’t stick out.
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It’s no wonder then that people often imagine them inhabited with monsters, like the famous Loch Ness one. On our list, the most famous would be Emela-ntouka or “the killer of elephants”, supposedly residing in Tanganyika Lake, among other places. Although no human attacks have been reported, diving into Tanganyika searching for Emela-ntouka may not be the smartest idea ever, considering its maximum depth of over 4,800 feet.
None of the largest manmade lakes in the world is present among the 11 deepest lakes in the world, which isn’t too surprising. The natural lakes are formed in deep ravines and even drift valleys between tectonic plates, like Lake Baikal. As the plates continue to move away from each other, the drift becomes deeper, meaning that Baikal can increase its depth.
Interestingly enough, not a single European lake made it onto the list, although Norwegian Hornindalsvatnet Lake came in 12th.
11. General Carrera-Buenos Aires Lake
Deepest point: 586 meters (1,923 feet)
Location: Chile, Argentina
Depending on which side of the lake you are standing, it is called either General Carrera Lake (in Chile) or Buenos Aires Lake (in Argentina). Water supply for the lake comes from surrounding glaciers and it is drained to the Pacific by Baker River.
10. Matano Lake
Deepest point: 590 meters (1,936 feet)
Location: Indonesia
Home of the many endemic species, Matano is the deepest lake in Indonesia. Its remote location has kept it well preserved, but recent plans for a development of nearby areas may put an end to the lake’s biodiversity.
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9. Crater Lake
Deepest point: 594 meters (1,949 feet)
Location: United States of America
Located in Oregon, Crater Lake is the centerpiece of Crater Lake National Park. It is actually a caldera of the volcano Mount Mazama, destroyed in an eruption roughly 8,000 years ago. There are no rivers flowing to or out of the lake, with rain and snowfall being the only sources of water.
8. Great Slave Lake
Deepest point: 614 meters (2,015 feet)
Location: Canada
Located in the Northwestern Territories, Great Slave Lake is the deepest lake in North America. Despite being frozen since November to Jun, it is a home to several settlements, which were featured in Animal Channel’s series Ice Lake Rebels.
7. Issyk Kul
Deepest point: 668 meters (2,192 feet)
Location: Kyrgyzstan
Deepest point: 706 meters (2,316 feet)
Issyk Kul (meaning hot lake, because it never freezes, despite being surrounded by snow covered mountains of Kyrgyzstan) is endorheic, meaning there aren’t any outflows draining the water.
6. Malawi Lake
Deepest point: 706 meters (2,316 feet)
Location: Southeast Africa
Lake Malawi (AKA Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique) contains more species of fish than any other lake in the world. It is the second deepest lake in Africa.
5. O’Higgins-San Martín Lake
Deepest point: 836 meters (2,742 feet)
Location: Chile, Argentina
The deepest lake in Americas has two names, O’Higgins in Chile and San Martin in Argentine. It’s depth of 2,742 feet also makes it number 5 among the deepest lakes in the world.
4. Vostok Lake
Deepest point: 1,000 meter (3,300 feet)
Location: Antarctica
Although Russian scientist suggested the existence of lakes beneath Antarctica ice in late 19th century, Vostok’s existence wasn’t confirmed until 1996. It is located under 2 miles of solid ice and on top of it a Russian research station Vostok (after which the lake was named) is located.
3. Caspian Sea
Deepest point: 1,025 meter (3,363 feet)
Location: Central Asia
Surrounded by 5 countries (Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan) and without an outflow, Caspian Sea is the largest body of water not connected with the world ocean.
2. Tanganyika Lake
Deepest point: 1,470 meter (4,823 feet)
Location: Central Africa
A part of the African Great Lakes, Tanganyika is second in the world not just in terms of depth, but also by volume of fresh water.
1. Baikal Lake
Deepest point: 1,642 meter (5,387 feet)
Location: Russia
Located in Southern Siberia, Lake Baikal is the largest reservoir of fresh water in the world. It contains roughly 20% of all unfrozen fresh water on our planet. With a maximum depth of 1,642 meters (5,387 feet), it is the deepest lake in the world.
