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 400 m

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 lakes, 10 have a deepest point above sea level. These are Issyk-Kul, Crater Lake, Quesnel Lake, Sarez Lake, Lake Toba, Lake Tahoe, Lake Kivu, Nahuel Huapi Lake, Lake Van, and Lake 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 (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 112 registered lakes; 58 are known to be cryptodepressions. These include: Vostok              (subglacial surface), (Caspian Sea ) (subsea surface), Dead Sea (subsea surface) and Jökulsárlón (glacial lagoon estuary). The remaining 54 lakes have their entire basin above sea level.

This list contains all lakes whose mean depth is reliably known to exceed 100 metres (328 ft).

Greatest maximum depth by continent

 * Africa &mdash; 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: Kivu
 * Antarctica &mdash; 1: Radok (surface lake); Vostok (subglacial lake)
 * Asia &mdash; 1: Baikal, 2: Issyk Kul, 3: Matano
 * Eurasia &mdash; 1: Baikal, 2: Caspian Sea, 3: Issyk Kul
 * Europe &mdash; 1: Hornindalsvatnet, 2: Salvatnet, 3: Lake Tinn
 * North America &mdash; 1: Great Slave, 2: Crater, 3: Quesnel
 * Central America &mdash; 1: Atitlán, 2: Chicabal
 * Oceania &mdash; 1: Hauroko, 2: Manapouri, 3: Te Anau
 * Australia &mdash; 1: St Clair
 * South America &mdash; 1: Viedma, 2: O'Higgins/San Martín, 3: General Carrera-Buenos Aires

Greatest mean depth by continent

 * Africa &mdash; 1: Tanganyika, 2: Malawi, 3: Kivu
 * Antarctica &mdash; 1: Vostok
 * Asia &mdash; 1: Baikal, 2: Tazawa, 3: Issyk-Kul
 * Europe &mdash; 1: Crveno, 2: Hornindalsvatnet, 3: Lake Tinn
 * North America &mdash; 1: Crater, 2: Tahoe, 3: Adams
 * Oceania &mdash; 1: Te Anau, 2: Manapouri, 3: Wakatipu
 * South America &mdash; 1: General Carrera-Buenos Aires, 2: Quilotoa, 3: Fagnano