Trapped In Time - Chapter 84

Jupiter’s large moon ‘Lo’ is volcanically active, as result sulfur deposits have accumulated on the surface. Some photographs taken during the Galileo mission appear to show lakes of liquid sulfur in a volcanic caldera, though these are more analogous to the lake of lava than of water on Earth.

The planet Mars has only one confirmed lake; it is underground and near the south pole. However, the surface of Mars is too cold and has too little atmospheric pressure to permit permanent surface water. Geologic evidence appears to confirm, however, that ancient lakes once formed on the surface. It is also possible that volcanic activity on Mars will occasionally melt subsurface ice, creating large temporary lakes. This water would quickly freeze and then sublimate, unless insulated in some manner, such as by a coating of volcanic ash.

There are dark basaltic plains on the Moon, similar to lunar maria but smaller, that are called Lacus because they were thought by early astronomers to be lakes of water.

Distribution of lakes

The Seven Rila Lakes are a group of glacial lakes in the Bulgarian Rila mountains

Notable lakes on Earth

Round Tangle Lake, one of the Tangle Lakes, 2,864 feet (873 m) above sea level in interior Alaska.

The largest lake by surface area is the Caspian Sea, which, despite its name, is considered a lake from the point of view of geography. The surface area is 143,000 sq. mi./371,000 km2.

The second-largest lake by surface area, and the largest freshwater lake by surface area, is Lake Michigan-Huron, which is hydrologically a single lake. The surface area is 45,300 sq. mi./117,400 km2. For those who consider Lake Michigan-Huron to be separate lakes, and the Caspian Sea to be a sea,

Lake Superior would be the largest lake at 82,100 km2 (31,700 square miles).

Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, located in Siberia, with a bottom at 1,637 meters (5,371 ft). Its mean depth is also the greatest in the world (749 meters (2,457 ft)). It is also the world’s largest freshwater lake by volume (23,600 cubic kilometers (5,700 cu mi), but much smaller than the Caspian Sea at 78,200 cubic kilometers (18,800 cu mi)), and the second-longest (about 630 kilometers (390 mi) from tip to tip).

The world’s oldest lake is again, Lake Baikal, followed by Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. Lake Maracaibo is considered by some to be the second-oldest lake on Earth, but since it lies at sea level and nowadays is a contiguous body of water with the sea, others consider that it has turned into a small bay.

The longest lake is Lake Tanganyika, with a length of about 660 kilometers (410 mi) (measured along the lake’s centerline). It is also the third-largest by volume, the second oldest, and the second deepest (1,470 meters (4,820 ft)) in the world, after Lake Baikal.

The world’s highest lake, if the size is not a criterion, maybe the crater lake of Ojos del Salado, at 6,390 meters (20,965 ft).

The highest large (greater than 250 square kilometers (97 sq mi)) lake in the world is the 290 square kilometers (110 sq mi) Pumoyong Tso (Pumuoyong Tso), in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, at 28-34N 90-24E, 5,018 meters (16,463 ft) above sea level.

The world’s highest commercially navigable lake is Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia at 3,812 m (12,507 ft). It is also the largest lake in South America.

The world’s lowest lake is the Dead Sea, bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and Palestine to the west, at 418 meters (1,371 ft) below sea level. It is also one of the lakes with the highest salt concentration.

Lake Michigan–Huron has the longest lake coastline in the world: about 5,250 kilometers (3,260 mi), excluding the coastline of its many inner islands. Even if it is considered two lakes, Lake Huron alone would still have the longest coastline in the world at 2,980 kilometers (1,850 mi).

The largest island in a lake is Manitoulin Island in Lake Michigan-Huron, with a surface area of 2,766 square kilometers (1,068 sq mi).

Lake Manitou, on Manitoulin Island, is the largest lake on an island in a lake.

The largest lake on an island is Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island, with an area of 5,542 square kilometers (2,140 sq mi) and a maximum length of 123 kilometers (76 mi).

The largest lake in the world that drains naturally in two directions is Wollaston Lake.

Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra is in what is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth.

The largest lake completely within the boundaries of a single city is Lake Wanapitei in the city of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Before the current city boundaries came into effect in 2001, this status was held by Lake Ramsey, also in Sudbury.

Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic is the only saltwater lake in the world inhabited by crocodiles.

Lake Bernard, Ontario, Canada, claims to be the largest lake in the world with no islands.

The largest lake in one country is Lake Michigan, in the United States. However, it is sometimes considered part of Lake Michigan-Huron, making the record go to Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, in Canada, the largest lake within one jurisdiction.

The largest lake on an island in a lake on an island in Crater Lake on Vulcano Island in Lake Taal on the island of Luzon, The Philippines.

The northernmost named lake on Earth is Upper Dumbell Lake in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada at a latitude of 82°28’N. It is 5.2 kilometers (3.2 mi) southwest of Alert, the northernmost settlement in the world. There are also several small lakes north of Upper Dumbell Lake, but they are all unnamed and only appear on very detailed maps.

Largest by continent

The largest lakes (surface area) by continent are:

Australia – Lake Eyre (salt lake)

Africa – Lake Victoria, also the third-largest freshwater lake on Earth. It is one of the Great Lakes of Africa.

Antarctica – Lake Vostok (subglacial)

Asia – Lake Baikal (if the Caspian Sea is considered a lake, it is the largest in Eurasia, but is divided between the two geographic continents)

Oceania – Lake Eyre when filled; the largest permanent (and freshwater) lake in Oceania is Lake Taupo.

Europe – Lake Ladoga, followed by Lake Onega, both in northwestern Russia.