It often seems to start with the simplest of questions before
turning hopelessly complex. What’s the deepest lake? That
doesn’t sound too difficult. It’s straight-forward. It seems to
beg an easy answer, and it even provides one. Sort-of. Maximum
depth or mean depth? Does it have to poke above the surface?
What if it’s covered by ice or rock? See what I mean? View
Larger Map Maybe it’s not that difficult. Let’s consult
Wikipedia’s List of lakes by depth. Russia’s Lake Baikal has
both the greatest maximum depth (1,637 metres / 5,369 feet) and
mean depth (758 m / 2,487 ft). Baikal conceals an inordinate
amount of superlatives within its immense size. Not only is it
the world’s deepest lake by both common measurements, it also
contains on the order of 20% of the earth’s non-frozen fresh
water. Notice the shape which is typical of a rift valley. These
are formed along faults in the earth’s crust where land splits
to create a deep crack. Baikal filled with water and resulted in
a 636 kilometre (395 mile) lake. Cas