List of the World's Deepest Lakes, Some Reaching 1,620 Meters

A lake is a naturally formed body of water in a depression and surrounded by land. Several countries have lakes with fantastic depths, even more than 1,000 meters.

Based on Britannica, here is a list of the deepest lakes in the world:

1. Lake Baikal (1,620 meters)

Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. Located in Siberia, it is also the largest freshwater lake. It holds more than 20% of the world's unfrozen freshwater.

Furthermore, Lake Baikal is the oldest freshwater lake in the world, estimated to be 20 to 25 million years old. Lake Baikal is home to a large number of animal and plant species found nowhere else, such as the Baikal seal.

2. Lake Tanganyika (1,436 meters)

Lake Tanganyika, located on the borders of Zambia, Burundi, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, occupies the second position. Lake Tanganyika is a relatively long and narrow lake with incredible biodiversity.

Since the Stone Age, human communities have fished along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. However, excessive modern commercial fishing practices have become a problem in recent decades.

3. Caspian Sea (1,025 meters)

The Caspian Sea, located between the Caucasus Mountains and the Central Asian Steppe, is the largest inland body of water in the world. It is also the world's largest saltwater lake, stretching almost 750 miles (1,200 km) from north to south and having an average width of 200 miles (320 km).

The northern third of the Caspian Sea is very shallow, with an average depth of about 20 feet (6 meters). Meanwhile, the southernmost third of the lake has an average depth of about 1,000 feet (300 meters).

4. Lake Vostok (900 meters)

Lake Vostok, located in Antarctica, is buried under 4 km of ice. This makes Lake Vostok the largest known subglacial lake.

Since the 1970s, scientists have suspected the presence of a large amount of freshwater trapped under the ice at the site. However, precise measurements using ice-penetrating radar were only possible in 1996 by British and Russian researchers.

Biological activity in Lake Vostok remains a mystery because there is no way to collect samples or place sensors under the ice. By 2012, a research team successfully drilled through the ice to the lake's surface and discovered many new forms of bacterial life.

5. Lake O'Higgins/San Martin (836 meters)

Lake O'Higgins is the fifth deepest lake in the world. It is located in the sparsely populated Patagonian Andes region.

Located on the Argentina-Chile border, the lake is fed by water originating from the O'Higgins Glacier to the west. It has a characteristic milky turquoise water from the high concentration of rock flour carried by the glacier.

6. Lake Nyasa (706 meters)

Lake Nyasa is a long lake stretching over 350 miles (560 km) along the border of Mozambique, Tanzania, and Malawi. Lake Nyasa has a depth and temperature stratification that creates a number of very different environments.

Thus, the level of biodiversity in the lake is extraordinary. There are approximately 1,000 fish species inhabiting Lake Nyasa.

7. Lake Issyk-Kul (668 meters)

Lake Issyk-Kul is located at an altitude of 5,270 feet (1,606 meters) in the Tien Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan. The lake's name comes from the word *Ysyk-kol*, meaning "hot lake". This is because Lake Issyk-Kul never freezes, even though winter temperatures in the area regularly reach minus 26 degrees Celsius.

Lake Issyk-Kul has long been a site of human activity. Gold and bronze artifacts belonging to the Scythians, the earliest inhabitants of Kyrgyzstan, have been found nearby.

8. Great Slave Lake (614 meters)

Great Slave Lake is located in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the deepest lake in North America.

Not only that, Great Slave Lake is the second largest in Canada. However, not many people live near Great Slave Lake due to its very cold climate.

9. Crater Lake (592 meters)

Crater Lake, located in the Cascade Mountains, Oregon, is the deepest lake in the United States. It is relatively young, having formed about 7,700 years ago when Mount Mazama collapsed during an eruption.

The water in Crater Lake is deep blue due to its depth and clarity. The lake holds very little sediment because most of it comes from rainfall.