A lake is a natural body of water that has arisen within a lake bed. It has no access to the sea or ocean. There are about 5 million lakes of various sizes in the world. Today we will look at the largest lakes in the world and interesting facts about them. And our list opens with the largest body of water - the Caspian Sea. What do we know about him?
Caspian, or the Caspian Sea
The largest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea. About 70 names are known, which were given to it by the peoples living on its shores at different times.
There is a theory that the Black and Caspian Seas were one about 10,000 years ago. Today the Caspian Sea is the largest s alt water lake in the world.
Its official name comes from the Caspians - the tribes inhabiting the southeastern Transcaucasia in the second millennium BC. Today, the territories of the Caspian coast belong to five states. Most of the Caspian Sea belongs to Turkmenistan. Other sections of its shores were divided by Kazakhstan, Iran and Azerbaijan. The Iranians still call the Khazar sea.
The area of the Caspian is 371,000 km². Despite the fact that it is considered a lake, the reservoir can be classified as a full-fledged sea, since its bottom is composed of oceanic crust. In addition, the Caspian Sea is very large. Its area is only 6000 km² smaller than Japan. But why is the Caspian Sea called a lake? Because it has no outlet to the ocean and is closed.
If we consider the Caspian Sea as a lake, it will be the largest in the world. Although disputes about whether to attribute the Caspian to the sea or lake are still ongoing. But most experts consider it an endorheic reservoir. Among the lakes, it is the third deepest after Baikal and Tanganyika. The northern part of the Caspian is quite shallow, and on average its depth is only 5-6 meters. In the southern region, called the South Caspian, the maximum depth reaches 1025 m.
The water level is now steadily declining. It falls 6.72 cm annually. This was already the case in the 20th century. In 1977, the water level dropped to 29 m below sea level, although it quickly recovered to optimal levels. Fortunately, the historical minimum has not yet been reached. Over the past twenty years, the Caspian has become shallower by 1.4 m. Geophysicists believe that global warming is to blame, causing changes in the Caspian ecosystem. If this continues, the reservoir will dry up completely by the end of the 21st century.
Great Lakes
In North America there is a group of freshwater Great Lakes, consisting of five bodies of water. They are located in the US and Canada. Their list includes Top,Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. They are connected to each other by rivers and straits. The largest of this list is Upper.
Lake Superior
It has an area of 82,414 km² and an average depth of 147 m. The lake is the deepest of the Great Lakes.
Today Lake Superior in America is divided between two states - Canada and the USA. This is the largest fresh water lake in the world. There are even storms here. Residents of nearby settlements are familiar with the mysterious waves and even the local ghost ship. However, the phenomenon is not surprising, because at the bottom of the lake there are dozens of ships that died during bad weather.
The "Three Sisters" phenomenon is widely known among the locals. The Indians wrote about him. These are three gigantic waves arising from nowhere. They wash away everything in their path. During their appearance, human casu alties are not uncommon. The Indians believed that the waves arise from the movement of a huge sturgeon living at the bottom of the lake.
There are islands in the pond. The largest of them is Isle Royal. It is 72 km long and 12 km wide. Today it has the status of a national park.
Victoria
Lake Victoria in Africa is the second largest freshwater lake. It is located on the territory of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, in the eastern part of the mainland. Victoria is not the largest lake in the world, but the largest in Africa. Its area is 68.8 km². The maximum depth of Victoria is 80 m, and the length of the coastline is 7000 km². Whereinthe reservoir has the status of the most tropical in the world, since the temperature of its upper layer (several meters thick) reaches +35 degrees Celsius. Even in the coldest month of July, it does not fall below +20.
Lake Victoria in Africa was discovered in the 19th century and named after Queen Victoria. However, the locals call it Nyanza. There were attempts to come up with another name for the lake, uniting the cultures of the peoples living on its shores. However, so far they have not been successful. Fishermen call Victoria "the lake of the gods", believing that its resources are endless. However, Nyanza is slowly dying.
The thing is that more and more pesticides and fertilizers get into the reservoir, which washes away the rain from agricultural land. In addition, the surface of the lake was chosen by water hyacinth. It grows rapidly, depriving the inhabitants of the lake depths of oxygen and the sun. Fish are dying and the movement of fishing boats is hindered. People complain about declining catch and hard life.
The approximate age of Victoria is about 400,000 years old. During this time, the reservoir completely dried up three times. Environmentalists believe that if serious measures are not taken to improve the ecosystem, the lake will die.
Huron
The Huron belongs to the group of the Great Lakes of America and is second in size only to the Upper Lake. Its coastal zone is divided by the state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. The area of Lake Huron is 59.9 km², the depth is 229 m. However, off the coast of the southern part, the reservoir seems shallow. The coastal zone with a depth of up to 150 cm stretches for 10 m. The name of the reservoirfrom the Huron Indian tribe that once inhabited its shores. Its bottom is a real graveyard of ships. During numerous storms, hundreds of ships sank and were washed ashore.
Today the shores of the reservoir are very fond of tourists, as they are distinguished by their incredible beauty and diversity of flora and fauna. However, air masses from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Arctic and the Gulf of Mexico form extreme weather conditions in winter, so the best time to visit the lake is summer. Huron is connected to Michigan Island by the Strait of Mackinac. These two reservoirs have such a similar characteristic that they were considered to be combined into one.
Today the ecological situation of the Great Lakes is deteriorating. Some species of fish disappeared, the water began to change its chemical composition. Therefore, a program was developed to improve the ecosystem of lakes, designed for several decades.
Michigan
Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that is wholly owned by the United States. It is the largest of the reservoirs, completely located on the territory of the state. From a hydrographic point of view, it is considered a single system with Lake Huron, but geographically they are separate lakes. Also connected to the Mississippi, one of the greatest rivers in the world. The area of Lake Michigan is 58,000 km², and the depth reaches 85 m. Its name comes from the Indian mishigami, which means "big water". Indeed, its dimensions are very impressive and only slightly inferior to the lakes Superior and Huron. Michigan has its own personal monster. It is believed that a plesiosaur, a relative of the Scottish Nessie, lives at the bottom of it. There have also been reports of a blue-eyed werewolf terrorizing the local population.
The biggest lake in Europe
Ladoga is the largest freshwater lake in Europe. Its shores belong to the Republic of Karelia and the Leningrad Region. Refers to the B altic Sea basin of the Atlantic Ocean. Only one river flows out of it - the Neva. And the lake itself was once called Nevo, which means "swamp". In the 13th century it began to be called Ladoga. Its area is 17,700 km², and the average depth is 51 m. The lake is distinguished by a phenomenon, which, however, also takes place in other water bodies around the world. During your stay on the lake, you can hear brontides. These are low-frequency sounds, the explanations for which still cannot be found. This riddle has become the basis of numerous legends about the monsters of the lakebed. On the largest lake in Europe, storms are not uncommon. Starting from August, conditions on the reservoir worsen, which is dangerous for ships. Therefore, the ships sail on the canals: Novoladozhsky and Malonevsky. Old Ladoga, built by order of Peter I, has not been operating for a long time.
The longest lake in the world
Tanganyika is located in Central Africa. Its area is 32,900 km², the average depth is 570 m, and the maximum reaches 1470 m. The lake bears the title of the longest freshwater reservoir in the world. The length of its coastline is 1828 km, so on the map Tanganyika looks more like a river,than a reservoir. The waters of the lake are rich in various species of fish, 170 of which are unique and live only here. Also, leeches and numerous species of mollusks live in the waters of the lake. There are herons, crocodiles, hippos. However, only 10% of the lake's water is suitable for life, because only its upper layers contain oxygen. At a depth of 100 m and below, the water is dead. Today, the ecological situation of Tanganyika leaves much to be desired. The lake is polluted by industrial and household waste. On the coast, infections often break out due to dirty water. And the water hyacinth inexorably tightens its surface.
In conclusion
Now you know which lake is the largest in the world. This review is just a small part of the wonders that the nature of our world is rich in.
