LakeDB
225 lakes worldwide with area, depth, type, and natural history. From Baikal to your local pond.
Featured
Lake Baikal
Deepest lake on Earth at 1,642 m. Contains 22% of worlds freshwater. 25-30 million years o...
Lake Superior
The largest freshwater lake by surface area. Contains 10% of the worlds surface freshwater...
Lake Victoria
Africas largest lake and chief reservoir of the Nile. Named by Speke after Queen Victoria....
Crater Lake
Deepest lake in USA. Formed 7,700 years ago when Mount Mazama collapsed. Visibility 43 m....
Dead Sea
Lowest point on Earth at 430 m below sea level. 9.6x saltier than ocean. Shrinking 1 m per...
Lake Toba
Largest volcanic lake. Supervolcano eruption 74,000 years ago may have caused human geneti...
Lake Malawi
Third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. 1,000+ cichlid species, more than any lak...
Lake Titicaca
Highest navigable lake at 3,812 m. Sacred to the Inca. The Uros live on floating reed isla...
Freshwater Lakes (181)
Lake Superior
The largest freshwater lake by surface area. Contains 10% of the worlds surface freshwater...
Lake Victoria
Africas largest lake and chief reservoir of the Nile. Named by Speke after Queen Victoria....
Lake Huron
Second largest Great Lake. Manitoulin Island is the worlds largest lake island. Over 30,00...
Lake Michigan
Only Great Lake entirely in the USA. Chicago sits on its shore. Contains Sleeping Bear Dun...
Lake Tanganyika
Second deepest lake at 1,470 m. Longest freshwater lake at 673 km. Contains 17% of worlds ...
Lake Baikal
Deepest lake on Earth at 1,642 m. Contains 22% of worlds freshwater. 25-30 million years o...
Great Bear Lake
Largest lake entirely within Canada. On the Arctic Circle. Frozen November to July....
Great Slave Lake
Deepest lake in North America at 614 m. Named after the Slavey people....
Lake Erie
Shallowest Great Lake. Caught fire in 1969 from pollution, spurring the Clean Water Act. W...
Lake Winnipeg
Sixth largest freshwater lake in Canada. Severe algae blooms from agricultural runoff....
Lake Ontario
Smallest Great Lake by surface area. The St. Lawrence flows from it. Toronto on north shor...
Lake Ladoga
Largest lake in Europe. WWII Ice Road saved 1 million lives during Siege of Leningrad....
Saline Lakes (35)
Caspian Sea
The largest inland body of water on Earth. Technically a lake. Contains 78,200 km3 of wate...
Lake Van
Largest lake in Turkey. Largest soda lake on Earth at pH 9.7. Only pearl mullet fish survi...
Lake Urmia
Once largest lake in Middle East. Shrunk 90% since 1970s. Extremely salty....
Dead Sea
Lowest point on Earth at 430 m below sea level. 9.6x saltier than ocean. Shrinking 1 m per...
Issyk-Kul
Second largest saline lake. Means warm lake as it never freezes. Ancient city beneath its ...
Aral Sea
Shrunk 90% since 1960s. One of the worst environmental disasters. Rusting ships in the des...
Lake Qinghai
Largest lake in China at 3,205 m elevation. Growing since 2004....
Great Salt Lake
Largest saltwater lake in Western Hemisphere. 3-5x saltier than ocean. Spiral Jetty sculpt...
Mono Lake
Ancient saline lake. Famous tufa towers. LA diverted tributaries, landmark legal battle re...
Salton Sea
Created accidentally 1905. Once resort, now toxic and shrinking. Bombay Beach is apocalypt...
Lake Turkana
Largest permanent desert lake. Jade-green. More hominid fossils than anywhere else....
Lake Natron
pH up to 12. Animals calcified. Only breeding ground for 2.5 million lesser flamingos. Red...
Brackish Lakes (5)
Lake Maracaibo
Catatumbo Lightning strikes 280 times per hour, 260 nights per year. Most lightning-active...
Lake Chilika
Largest brackish lagoon in Asia. Ramsar Wetland. Over 1 million migratory birds. Home to I...
Pangong Tso
High-altitude lake at 4,350 m. Water changes color from blue to green to red. Featured in ...
Lake Pontchartrain
Tidal lagoon. Longest bridge over water at 38.6 km. Hurricane Katrina caused massive surge...
Lake Melville
Tidal estuary in Labrador. Churchill Falls hydroelectric project upstream....
Freshwater/Saline Lakes (4)
Lake Balkhash
Half freshwater, half saline. Western part fresh from Ili River, eastern part salty....
Lake Nakuru
Vast flamingo flocks turned shoreline pink. Rhino sanctuary....
Lake Neusiedl
Largest endorheic lake in Central Europe. Extremely shallow. UNESCO site. Second largest r...
Lake Carnegie
Intermittent lake in Western Australia. Usually dry. Fills after rare heavy rains....