These articles lists the world's deepest lakes.
Mjøsa is the largest lake in Norway and the fourth deepest in Norway and Europe. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of the city of Oslo. Its main tributary is the river Gudbrandsdalslågen flowing in from the north; the only distributary is the river Vorma in the south. Inflows would theoretically need 5.6 years to fill the lake. With an average depth of about 150 metres (490 ft), most of the lake's volume is under sea level. The average outflow of the lake (measured from 1931 to 1982) is 316 cubic metres per second (11,200 cu ft/s) which is about 9,959,000,000 cubic metres per year (1.1145×10 cu ft/Ms). Mjøsa contains about 56.2 km (13.5 cu mi) of water compared to the 14.8 km (3.6 cu mi) in the lake Røssvatnet, the second largest lake by volume in Norway.
With a surface elevation of about 121 metres (397 ft), the depth of Mjøsa means that the deepest part of the basin is located approximately 332 metres (1,089 ft) below sea level. This is lower than the deepest point of the sea inlet of Kattegat and the lower than the vast majority of Skagerrak off Norway's south coast. Mjøsa retains a larger average depth than both the North Sea and Baltic Sea respectively.
Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Republic of Buryatia to the southeast.
At 31,722 km (12,248 sq mi)—slightly larger than Belgium—Lake Baikal is the world's seventh-largest lake by surface area, as well as the second largest lake in Eurasia after the Caspian Sea. However, because it is also the deepest lake, with a maximum depth of 1,642 metres (5,387 feet), Lake Baikal is the world's largest freshwater lake by volume, containing 23,615.39 km (5,670 cu mi) of water or 22–23% of the world's fresh surface water, more than all of the North American Great Lakes combined. It is also the world's oldest lake at 25–30 million years, and among the clearest. It is estimated that the lake contains around 19% of the unfrozen fresh water on the planet.
Lake Tanganyika (/ˌtæŋɡənˈjiːkə, -ɡæn-/ TANG-gən-YEE-kə, -gan-; Kirundi: Ikiyaga ca Tanganyika) is an African Great Lake. It is the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. It is also the 6th largest lake by area. The lake is shared among four countries—Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC), Burundi, and Zambia—with Tanzania (46%) and the DRC (40%) possessing the majority of the lake. It drains via the Lukuga River into the Congo River system, which ultimately discharges at Banana, Democratic Republic of the Congo into the Atlantic Ocean.
Issyk-Kul (Russian: Иссык-Куль) or Ysyk-Köl (Kyrgyz: Ысык-Көл [ɯ̀sɯχ cʰɵl]; lit. 'Hot Lake') is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleventh-largest lake in the world by volume (though not in surface area), the deepest lake whose deepest point is above sea level (939 meters or 3,080 feet), and the second-largest saline lake. Although it is located at a lofty elevation of 1,607 metres (5,272 ft) and subject to severe cold during winter, it rarely freezes over due to high salinity, hence its name, which in the Kyrgyz language means "warm lake".
The lake is a Ramsar site of globally significant biodiversity and forms part of the Issyk-Kul Biosphere Reserve.
Lake Tahoe (/ˈtɑːhoʊ/) is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at 6,225 ft (1,897 m) above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, and at 122,160,280 acre⋅ft (150.7 km) it trails only the five Great Lakes as the largest by volume in the United States. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second deepest in the United States after Crater Lake in Oregon (1,949 ft or 594 m).
The lake was formed about two million years ago as part of the Lake Tahoe Basin, and its modern extent was shaped during the ice ages. It is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides. The area surrounding the lake is also referred to as Lake Tahoe, or simply Tahoe; its English name is derived from its Washo name, Dáʔaw. More than 75% of the lake's watershed is national forest land, covered by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the United States Forest Service.
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, (Swahili: Ziwa Nyasa) is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It is the fourth largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, the ninth largest lake in the world by area and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake in the world, including at least 700 species of cichlids. The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011, while in Malawi a portion of the lake is included in Lake Malawi National Park.
Crater Lake (Klamath: Giiwas) is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the Western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is a tourist attraction for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a 2,148-foot-deep (655 m) caldera that was formed around 7,700 (± 150) years agoby the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama. No rivers flow into or out of the lake; the evaporation is compensated for by rain and snowfall at a rate such that the total amount of water is replaced every 150 years. With a depth of 1,949 feet (594 m), the lake is the deepest in the United States. In the world, it ranks eleventh for maximum depth, as well as fifth for mean depth.
Crater Lake features two small islands. Wizard Island, located near the western shore of the lake, is a cinder cone about 316 acres (128 hectares) in size. Phantom Ship, a natural rock pillar, is located near the southern shore.
Lake Como, also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. Its characteristic "Y" shape resulted from the movement of the ancient Adda glacier, which was diverted by the mountainous terrain and carved the three branches.
Located at the foot of the Alps, Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocracy and the wealthy since Roman times, and a major tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. The homonymous city was named Novum Comum by consul Julius Caesar in 59 BC. Its shores are dotted with numerous villas and palaces, such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta, known for their historic architecture and elaborate gardens. The mild, humid climate, influenced by the lake, supports a diverse range of subtropical plants as well as traditional Mediterranean crops like olives. The surrounding mountains host typical Alpine flora and fauna. A significant religious site is the Sacro Monte di Ossuccio, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.