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.[9] A reliable volume figure requires a
bathymetric survey.[9] Therefore, mean depth figures are not available for many deep lakes in remote locations.[9] The average lake on Earth has the mean depth 41.8 meters (137.14 feet)[9]
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 112 registered lakes; 58 are known to be
cryptodepressions. These include:
Vostok[3][10] (subglacial surface), (
Caspian Sea[2]) (subsea surface),
Dead Sea (subsea surface) and
Jökulsárlón[7] (glacial lagoon estuary). The remaining: 54 lakes got their whole basins above the sea level.
This list contains all lakes whose mean depth is reliably known to exceed 100 metres (328 ft).
Note: Lake depths often vary depending on sources. The depths used here are the most reliable figures available in recent sources. See the articles on individual lakes for more details and data sources.
^
abLake Baikal is also the largest
freshwater lake by volume.
^
abcThe
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.
^Degens, E.T.; Wong, H.K.; Kempe, S.; Kurtman, F. (June 1984), "A geological study of Lake Van, eastern Turkey", International Journal of Earth Sciences, 73 (2), Springer: 701–734,
Bibcode:
1984GeoRu..73..701D,
doi:
10.1007/BF01824978,
S2CID128628465
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.[9] A reliable volume figure requires a
bathymetric survey.[9] Therefore, mean depth figures are not available for many deep lakes in remote locations.[9] The average lake on Earth has the mean depth 41.8 meters (137.14 feet)[9]
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 112 registered lakes; 58 are known to be
cryptodepressions. These include:
Vostok[3][10] (subglacial surface), (
Caspian Sea[2]) (subsea surface),
Dead Sea (subsea surface) and
Jökulsárlón[7] (glacial lagoon estuary). The remaining: 54 lakes got their whole basins above the sea level.
This list contains all lakes whose mean depth is reliably known to exceed 100 metres (328 ft).
Note: Lake depths often vary depending on sources. The depths used here are the most reliable figures available in recent sources. See the articles on individual lakes for more details and data sources.
^
abLake Baikal is also the largest
freshwater lake by volume.
^
abcThe
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.
^Degens, E.T.; Wong, H.K.; Kempe, S.; Kurtman, F. (June 1984), "A geological study of Lake Van, eastern Turkey", International Journal of Earth Sciences, 73 (2), Springer: 701–734,
Bibcode:
1984GeoRu..73..701D,
doi:
10.1007/BF01824978,
S2CID128628465