List of lakes by depth
List of lakes by depth
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List of lakes by depth

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List of lakes by depth

These articles lists the world's deepest lakes.

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 the listed lakes; 10 have a deepest point above mean sea level. These are: Issyk-Kul, Crater Lake, Quesnel, Sarez, Toba, Tahoe, Kivu, Nahuel Huapi, Van and Poso. The other lakes on the list reaches below sea level at their deepest points. This is a list, that includes the deepest lakes in the world (1 factor: depth). Not a list of the deepest cryptodepressions (2 factors: elevation compared with depth).

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. A reliable volume figure requires a bathymetric survey. Therefore, mean depth figures are not available for many deep lakes in remote locations. The average lake on Earth has the mean depth 41.8 meters (137.14 feet)

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 129 registered lakes; 69 are known to be cryptodepressions. These include: Vostok (subglacial surface), Concordia (subglacial surface), (Caspian Sea) (subsea surface), Dead Sea (subsea surface) and Jökulsárlón (glacial lagoon estuary). The remaining 60 lakes have got their entire basin above the sea level.

This list contains all lakes whose mean depth is reliably known to exceed 100 metres (328 ft).

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