List of lakes by depth • Oceania — 1: Hauroko, 2: Manapouri, 3: Te Anau
This page lists the world’s deepest lakes.
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• Australia — 1: St Clair
Lakes ranked by maximum depth
• South America — 1: O'Higgins/San Martín, 2: General Carrera, 3: Argentino
This list contains all lakes whose maximum depth is reliably known to exceed 400 metres (1,300 ft)
4 Greatest mean depth by continent
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.
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• Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: Kivu • Antarctica — 1: Vostok[3] • Asia — 1: Baikal, 2: Issyk Kul, 3: Karakul
Lakes ranked by mean depth
• North America — 1: Crater, 2: Tahoe, 3: Quesnel
Mean depth can be a more useful indicator than maxi• Oceania — 1: Kauhakō Crater mum depth for many ecological purposes. Unfortunately, accurate mean depth figures are only available for wellstudied lakes, as they must be calculated by dividing the 5 Notes lake’s volume by its surface area. A reliable volume figure requires a bathymetric survey. Therefore, mean depth Note: Lake depths often vary depending on sources. The figures are not available for many deep lakes in remote lodepths used here are the most reliable figures available in cations. recent sources. See the articles on individual lakes for more The Caspian Sea ranks much further down the list on details and data sources. mean depth, as it has a large continental shelf (significantly larger than the oceanic basin that contains its great- [1] Lake Baikal is also the largest freshwater lake by volume. est depths).
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[2] 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.
Greatest maximum depth by continent • Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: Kivu • Antarctica — 1: Vostok[3]
[3] Lake Vostok in Antarctica is a subglacial lake with a depth ranging from 400 to more than 900 meters.
• Asia — 1: Baikal, (2: Caspian Sea), 3: Issyk Kul, (3: Matano)
[4]
• Europe — 1: Hornindalsvatnet, 2: Mjøsa, 3: Salsvatnet
[5] 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,
• North America — 1: Great Slave Lake, 2: Crater, 3: Quesnel • Central America — 1: Chicabal
• CECS, Depth sounding of Lake O'Higgins/San Martín
Atitlán, 2:
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