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 these registered lakes; 10 have a deepest point above the sea level. These are: Issyk-Kul, Crater Lake, Quesnel, Sarez, Toba, Tahoe, Kivu, Nahuel Huapi, Van and Poso.

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
The Caspian Sea ranks much further down the list on mean depth, as it has a large continental shelf.
Of the 129 registered lakes; 69 are known to be cryptodepressions. These include: Vostok, Concordia,, Dead Sea and Jökulsárlón. 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.

Greatest maximum depth by continent

Africa — 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: KivuAntarctica — 1: Radok. — 1: Vostok, 2: Concordia, 3: Ellsworth.Asia — 1: Baikal, 2: Issyk Kul, 3: MatanoEurasia — 1: Baikal, 2: Caspian Sea, 3: Issyk KulEurope — 1: Hornindalsvatnet, 2: Salvatnet, 3: Lake Tinn North America — 1: Great Slave, 2: Crater, 3: Quesnel

Greatest mean depth by continent