List of lakes by depth

These articles lists the world's deepest lakes.

Lakes ranked by maximum depth

This list contains all lakes whose maximum depth is reliably known to exceed .

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).

Continent color key Africa Antarctica Asia Eurasia Europe North America Oceania South America

NameCountry Region Depth Depth2/area(meters) (feet) 1. BaikalLake Baikal is also the largest freshwater lake by volume. Southern Siberia: Buryatia and Irkutsk Oblast 2. Tanganyika African Great Lakes 3. (Caspian SeaThe 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.) Caspian Endorheic basin 4. VostokLake Vostok in Antarctica is a subglacial lake with a depth ranging from 510 to 900 meters. Under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet~900~2953 5. O'Higgins-San Martín Capitán Prat Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina) 6. Viedma Santa Cruz Province~750~2460 7. Argentino Santa Cruz Province 8. Malawi African Great Lakes 9. Issyk Kul Tien Shan Mountains 10. Great Slave Northwest Territories 11. CraterCrater 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 Oregon 12. Matano Southern Sulawesi 13.General Carrera-Buenos Aires General Carrera Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina) 14.Hornindalsvatnet Vestland 15. Quesnel British Columbia 16. Sarez Gorno-Badakhshan 16. Toba Sumatra 18. Tahoe California and Nevada 19.Salvatnet Trøndelag 20. Kivu African Great Lakes 21.Nahuel Huapi Río Negro Province and Neuquén Province 22. Hauroko Southland, South Island 23.Cochrane / Pueyrredón Capitán Prat Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina) 24.Lake Tinn Telemark 25. Adams British Columbia 26. Chelan Washington (state) 27. Mjøsa Innlandet and Akershus 28. Van Eastern Anatolia region 29. Poso Sulawesi 30. Fagnano Tierra del Fuego 31. Great Bear Northwest Territories 32. Manapouri Southland, South Island 33. Como Lombardy 34. Te Anau Southland, South Island 35. Tazawa Akita Prefecture, Honshu 36. Khantayskoye Krasnoyarsk KraiN/D 37. Wakatipu Otago, South Island 38.Grey Última Esperanza ProvinceN/D 39.Superior Ontario (Canada) and Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin (United States)

Lakes ranked by mean 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).

Continent colour key Africa Antarctica Asia Eurasia Europe North America Oceania South America

NameCountry Region Depth (meters) (feet) 1. Baikal Southern Siberia: Buryatia and Irkutsk Oblast 2. Tanganyika African Great Lakes 3. Vostok Under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet 4.General Carrera-Buenos Aires General Carrera Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina) 5. Crater Oregon 6. Tahoe California and Nevada 7. Adams British Columbia, (Shuswap) 8. Malawi African Great Lakes 9. Tazawa Honshu 10. Issyk Kul Tien Shan Mountains 11. Shikotsu Hokkaido 12. Concordia Antarctic Plateau 13. Crveno Imotski Area 14. Kivu African Great Lakes 14. Matano Sulawesi 16. Hornindalsvatnet Vestland 17. Quilotoa Cotopaxi Province 18. Wakatipu Otago, South Island 19. Toba Sumatra 20. Heaven Ryanggang Province (North Korea) and Jilin Province (China) 21. (Caspian Sea) Caspian Endorheic basin 22. Karakul Pamir Mountains 23. Sarez Gorno-Badakhshan 24. Kurile Kamchatka Peninsula 25. Fagnano Tierra del Fuego 26. Lake Tinn<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Telemark 26. Todos los Santos Llanquihue Province 28. Dead Sea Middle East 29. Chapo Llanquihue Province 30. Llanquihue Llanquihue Province and Osorno Province 31. Maggiore Lombardy, Piedmont (Italy) and Ticino (Switzerland) 32. Ranau Sumatra 32. Teletskoye Altai Mountains 34. Brienz Bern 34. Colico Cautín Province 34. Traful Neuquén Province 37. Lundevatnet<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Rogaland and Agder 38. Slocan British Columbia, (West Kootenay) 38. Van Eastern Anatolia region 40. Ilopango San Salvador, La Paz and Cuscatlán 41. Te Anau Southland, South Island 42. Lácar Neuquén Province 43. Rupanco Osorno Province 44. Riñihue Valdivia Province 45. Hāwea Otago, South Island 45. Nimpkish British Columbia,(Vancouver Island) 47. Wānaka Otago, South Island 48. Azure British Columbia, (Wells Gray) 49. Nahuel Huapi Río Negro Province and Neuquén Province 49. Quesnel British Columbia, (Likely and Horsefly) 51. Suldalsvatnet<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Rogaland 52. Argentino Santa Cruz Province 53. Del Toro Última Esperanza Province 53. Ohrid Balkans 53. Salvatnet Trøndelag 56. Atitlán<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre 56. Como<ref name=Buzzi_1961></ref> Lombardy 58. Geneva Vaud, Geneva, Valais (Switzerland) and Haute-Savoie (France) 59. Jökulsárlón<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Vatnajökull National Park 60. Harrison British Columbia, (Coast Mountains) 61. Mjøsa Innlandet and Akershus 61. Powell British Columbia, (Sunshine Coast) 63. Menéndez Chubut Province 64. Manapouri Southland, South Island 64. Singkarak Western Sumatra 66. Lake Superior Ontario (Canada) and Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin (United States) 67. Chelan Washington (state) 68. Huechulafquen Neuquén Province 68. Pend Oreille Idaho 70. Anderson British Columbia, (Lillooet) 70. Nemrut Bitlis Province 70. Redoubt Alaska, (Baranof Island) 73. Storsjøen<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Innlandet 74. Khövsgöl Nearby the eastern, Sayan Mountains 75. Mashū Hokkaido 76. Lonar Deccan Plateau 76. Ørsdalsvatnet Rogaland 78. Garda Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino 78. Thun Bern 80. Ikeda Kyushu 80. Yelcho Palena Province 82. Lugano Ticino (Switzerland) and Lombardy (Italy) 83. Loch Ness , Caledonia 84. Oppstrynsvatnet<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Vestland 85. Breimsvatnet<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Vestland 86. Mainit Mindanao 87. Panguipulli Valdivia Province 88. Great Central British Columbia, (Vancouver Island) 88. Iseo Lombardy 90. Greve Última Esperanza Province 91. Ranco Ranco Province 91. Timiskaming Ontario and Quebec 93. Bandak<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Telemark 93. Maihue Ranco Province 95. Fyresvatnet Telemark 95. Kanas Xinjiang, Altay Prefecture 95. Towuti Southern Sulawesi 95. Villarrica Cautín Province 99. Garibaldi British Columbia, (Coast Mountains) 100. Caburgua Cautín Province 100. Toya<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Hokkaido 102. Hauroko Southland, South Island 103. Calafquén Valdivia Province 104. Mabel British Columbia, (Shuswap) 105. Poteriteri Southland, South Island 106. Mascardi Río Negro Province 106. Puelo Chubut Province 108. Lake Taupō<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Waikato, North Island 109. Öskjuvatn<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Highlands of Iceland 110. Chilko British Columbia, (Chilcotin) 111. Murtle British Columbia, (Wells Gray) 111. Titicaca Puno Region (Peru) and La Paz Department (Bolivia) 113. Tatlayoko British Columbia, (Chilcotin) 114. Gander Newfoundland 115. Guinas Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb 115. Kauhakō Crater Hawaii, (Molokai) 115. Maninjau Central Sumatra 118. Walen St. Gallen and Glarus 119. Lucerne Central Switzerland 119. Sarmiento Última Esperanza Province 121. Rivadavia Chubut Province 122. Takla British Columbia, (Mount Blanchet) 123.Cochrane / Pueyrredón<ref name="MurdieEtAl_1999" /> Capitán Prat Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina) 124. Clearwater<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> British Columbia, (Wells Gray) 125. Futalaufquen Chubut Province 126. Nueltin<ref name="DoddsWhiles2010"/> Nunavut and Manitoba 126. Rara Karnali Province 126. Taal Southern Luzon 126. Viedma Santa Cruz Province

Greatest maximum depth by continent Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: Kivu Antarctica — 1: Radok (surface lake). — 1: Vostok (subglacial lake), 2: Concordia (subglacial lake), 3: Ellsworth (subglacial lake). Asia — 1: Baikal, 2: Issyk Kul, 3: Matano Eurasia — 1: Baikal, 2: Caspian Sea, 3: Issyk Kul Europe — 1: Hornindalsvatnet, 2: Salvatnet, 3: Lake Tinn North America — 1: Great Slave, 2: Crater, 3: Quesnel Central America — 1: Atitlán, 2: Chicabal, 3: Ilopango Oceania — 1: Hauroko, 2: Manapouri, 3: Te Anau Australia — 1: St Clair South America — 1: Viedma, 2: O'Higgins/San Martín, 3: Argentino

Greatest mean depth by continent Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: Kivu Antarctica — 1: Vostok (subglacial lake), 2: Concordia (subglacial lake), 3: Ellsworth (subglacial lake). Asia — 1: Baikal, 2: Tazawa, 3: Issyk-Kul Europe — 1: Crveno, 2: Hornindalsvatnet, 3: Lake Tinn North America — 1: Crater, 2: Tahoe, 3: Adams Oceania — 1: Wakatipu, 2: Te Anau, 3: Hāwea South America — 1: General Carrera-Buenos Aires, 2: Quilotoa, 3: Fagnano

List of lakes by depth

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