Deepest lakes & reservoirs in by maximum depth
This is a comparison for lakes we have listed within - Compared by Deepest Lakes in feet.Note: For some lakes, lake depth data is unknown, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 2151 articles we have published for lakes.
Search results: Sort lakes by max depth
Lake name ![]() |
Max depth in feet ![]() |
Lake description |
---|---|---|
Lake Baikal (Eastern Siberia, Russia) |
5,314 ft | Also known as Lake Baykal, Sacred Sea, Pearl of Siberia, Blue Eye of Siberia, Galapagos of Russia Russia’s national treasure, Lake Baikal, is the world’s deepest lake and is our planet’s largest freshwater lake measured by water volume. Its bottom is 4,215 feet below sea level. Lake Baikal contains about 1/5 of Earth’s unfrozen surface freshwater. It is also one of the most biologically diverse… |
Lake Tanganyika (African Great Lakes, Burundi, Congo (DRC), Kigoma, Rukwa, Tanzania, Zambia) |
4,708 ft | Located in the Western Great Rift Valley of Africa, the crystal clear water of Lake Tanganyika reaches across four countries – Burundi, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. Stretching 420 miles, this lake is the longest freshwater lake in the world and has a maximum width of 31 miles… |
Sognefjord (Norway) |
4,291 ft | Also known as Sognafjord Often called ‘King of the Fjords’, Sognefjord is Norway’s longest fjord. Sognefjord is also the third longest fjord in the world. An amazing 4,291 feet deep in some areas, the spectacular fjord is set between steep cliffs soaring another 3,300 feet above the water’s surface. Averaging over 2.5 miles… |
Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Northern Caucases, Povolzhsky, Russia, Turkmenistan) |
3,363 ft | Also known as Mazandaran Sea, Khazar Sea, Khvalyn Sea With the largest volume of any saltwater “lake” on earth, the Caspian Sea holds well over 62 billion acre-feet of saltwater. Many classify the Caspian Sea not as a lake, but as an inland sea. (There is no widely accepted definition of “lake,” but most exclude bodies of saltwater.) Considered by many… |
Lake Vostok (Antarctica) |
3,000 ft | January 2013 Update: The Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute announced that the Russian team reached lake water ice on January 10, 2013, successfully extracting a clean water sample from the lake. The scientific community eagerly awaits analysis of the reportedly untainted core sample, i… |
Lago O’Higginsch (Argentina, Chile, Patagonia, Santa Cruz, South) |
2,743 ft | Also known as Lago Bernardo O'Higgins, Lago San Martin Reaching Lago O’Higgins on the Chile/Argentina border takes some effort. Lago O’Higgins is known as Lago San Martin on the Argentina side. Located in the Patagonian Aisen (or Aysen) Region, Lago O’Higgins is the deepest lake in the Americas. With a maximum depth of 2,743 feet, this is not only the d… |
Lake Pinatubo (Central Philippines Region, Philippines) |
2,625 ft | Also known as Lawa ni Apo Malyari Lake Pinatubo was created in the aftermath of the second largest volcanic eruption in the 20th century. Located in the crater of Mount Pinatubo in the Tarlac province of central Luzon, Philippines, the rainfall-fed lake has become a tourism destination in its own right and the deepest lake in the co… |
Lake Malawi (African Great Lakes, Iringa, Malawi, Manda Wilderness, Mbeya, Mozambique, Ruvuma, Tanzania, The Lakeshore) |
2,316 ft | Also known as Lake Nyasa, Lake Nyassa, Lake Niassa, Lago Niassa Located in the East African Rift Valley system between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, Lake Malawi — also known as Lake Nyasa, Lake Nyassa, Lake Niassa, and Lago Niassa — is the third-largest lake in Africa at over 7,314,319 acres. It also has the distinction of being the second deepest lake in A… |
Issyk Kul (Kyrgyzstan) |
2,192 ft | Also known as Ysyk Kol, Issyk-Kol Little-known Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan is poised to become Central Asia’s most famous tourism destination. Popular among citizens of the former USSR, the new and refurbished resorts and health spas of Issyk Kul are now open for business and beckon all those with an adventurous spirit to the secon… |
Great Slave Lake (Canada, Northwest Territories) |
2,010 ft | Great Slave Lake is the fifth-largest lake (by acreage) in North America and, following Great Bear Lake, is the second-largest in Canada. A natural lake, it is located in south-central Northwest Territories (NWT). Located just south of the Arctic Circle, Great Slave Lake is frozen about five and a h… |
Crater Lake (Oregon, Southern, USA, West) |
1,943 ft | Crater Lake is on the crest of the Cascade Range in southern Oregon, about 100 miles from the ocean, and is the centerpiece of Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake’s gorgeous deep blue water highlights its amazing depth of 1943 feet – the deepest lake in the United States and seventh deepest fresh… |
Lago General Carrera (Argentina, Chile, Patagonia, Santa Cruz, South) |
1,936 ft | Also known as General Carrera Lake, Lago Buenos Aires Indisputably one of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders, the Marble Cathedral of Lago General Carrera is one that most people will never see. This large turquoise lake is in the Patagonia region of Chile and crosses the border into Argentina where it is known as Lake Buenos Aires. The second-… |
Lake Matano (Indonesia) |
1,936 ft | Also known as Lake Matana, Danan Matano One of the world’s ten deepest lakes,* Lake Matano on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia is also one of the most unique. The picturesque, spring-fed lake covers 44,500 acres with some of the clearest water ever experienced. Headwaters of the Malili Lakes system, Lake Matano is fed by the Penten River… |
Lake Toba (Indonesia) |
1,736 ft | Also known as Danau Toba If you yearn for an exotic locale, you couldn’t find one better than Lake Toba. Located in the province of North Sumatra in Indonesia, Lake Toba is the largest permanent lake in Southeast Asia. The lake is the result of a supervolcano about 75,000 years ago, believed to be the largest volcanic explo… |
Hornindalsvatnet (Norway) |
1,686 ft | Also known as Hornindalsvatn, Hornindalsvatn Lake Considered the deepest lake in Europe, Norway’s Hornindalsvatn Lake is perfectly placed to host a western Norway holiday. Surrounded by mountains, glaciers and fjords, Hornindalsvatn Lake, like the steep fjords that slice through the Norwegian coastline, was scoured out by ice during the last ice ag… |
Lake Tahoe (California, High Sierra, Nevada, Renoe-Tahoe Territory, USA, West) |
1,645 ft | Tucked into the Sierra Nevada Mountains and straddling the California-Nevada state line, Lake Tahoe is one of the most famous lakes in the United States. It’s the second deepest lake in the country (only Crater Lake in Oregon is deeper), and was home to the area’s 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics.… |
Argentino Lake (Argentina, Patagonia, Santa Cruz) |
1,640 ft | Also known as Lago Argentino, Lake Argentino Argentino Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Argentina, covers a massive 362,255 acres in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, Argentina. The lake lies within the Los Glaciares National Park, tucked away in the Andes Mountains. The landscape of the area is definitely unique with its massive ice… |
Lake Mjosa (Norway) |
1,637 ft | Lake Mjosa is Norway’s largest lake, covering 89,500 acres. Located about 35 miles north of Oslo, the fjord lake is long and narrow, a drowned valley dug by the action of glaciers. Lake Mjosa plunges to depths of 1,637 feet, the fourth-deepest lake in Norway. Water flows into the lake from the north… |
Lake Kivu (African Great Lakes, Congo (DRC), Rwanda) |
1,591 ft | Also known as Lac Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the youngest of the African Great Lakes. Located in the Rift Valley, Lake Kivu is thought to be only 15,000 years old. Forming part of the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the lake formed during the Pleistocene Era when volcanic events in the Virung… |
Adams Lake (British Columbia, Canada) |
1,502 ft | Located in southern British Columbia amid the Columbia Mountains, Adams Lake is a more remote and less developed neighbor to nearby Shuswap Lake. Covering 34,000 acres with 93 miles of shoreline, Adams Lake reaches depths of 1,502 feet, making it the second-deepest Lake in British Columbia. Despite… |
Lake Chelan (North Central Washington, USA, Washington, West) |
1,486 ft | From the Salish Indian word for “deep notch”, Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the United States with a maximum depth of almost 1500 feet. Lake Chelan is long and narrow, stretching more than 50 miles in length with an average width of one mile. This north-central Washington lake nestled wit… |
Lake Van (Turkey) |
1,480 ft | Also known as Van Goiu Turkey’s Lake Van is a spectacular example of a very old lake surrounded by a very old culture. Located in the far eastern area of Turkey called Anatolia near the border with Iraq, Iran and Armenia, this ancient portion of the Silk Road has been conquered and re-conquered so many times that it’s dif… |