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List of Continents

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Wouldn't the use of Oceania (or less broadly Australasia) be more appropriate for the list of continents? This would of course vault Hauroko to the top position. Parodygm 14:59, 9 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Error in list?

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Salsvatn in Norway is 464m by the most conservative measurement. This would place it 17. on this list.Inge 11:45, 22 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Crater Lake in Oregon has a maximum depth of 594m, based on its USGS benchmark surface elevation of 1883m. The US National Park Service publishes different values (1881m for surface elevation, and 592m for the maximum depth), but it's preferable to use the values determined by the USGS, the technical basis of which is documented by Bacon, et al. (2002) Morphology, volcanism, and mass wasting in Crater Lake, Oregon. GSA Bulletin 114:675-692. --Pkrnger (talk) 18:59, 23 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Lake Pinatubo in the Philippines is now listed as having a depth of about 800meters, yet this entry lacks documentation. Scanning various news reports of this recently formed crater lake, I find that the depth of this lake is not likely any deeper than 85 meters. I suspect the Wikipedia entry for Lake Pinatubo of 800 meters is in error and thus this depth should be removed from the table of the world's deepest lakes until such time as bathymetry data for this lake can be verified. Pkrnger (talk) 15:13, 25 January 2013 (UTC)PkrngerPkrnger (talk) 15:13, 25 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Oceania

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I agree that the use of Oceania is more sensible than Australia, especially because in the list of lakes by depth, Haurako is colour-coded as being on the Australian continent, which of course it isn't. This creates ambiguity when in one list New Zealand is classed as being on the Australian continent, yet not on the other list. Ignorance.is.evil 12:37, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I disagree: the problem is that Oceania is not a continent, it is a very vaguely defined geopolitical term unrelated to actual continental plates. And exactly which of the vague and conflicting definitions you use matters, because in some definitions Indonesia's South Sulawesi province (which is on the Oceanian side of the Wallace Line) is included, and the Sulawesian Lake Matano is very much deeper than New Zealand's Lake Hauroko. If you wish to stick to the conventional continents, then Australia is a continent, Indonesia is part of Asia, and New Zealand is a large off-shore island not part of any continent (sorry.) If we want to be more scientific, then New Zealand's North Island is part of the Australian tectonic plate, but South Island (on which we find Hauroko) is a different tectonic plate, the Pacific plate. -- Securiger (talk) 07:36, 9 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Lake Chelan

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According to its article Lake Chelan should be on this list. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.110.221.182 (talk) 04:17, 27 February 2007 (UTC). I changed the 1,419 after following the second link in its article.[reply]

Baikal

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Isn't siberia in the asian part of russia? Should the color code be changed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.223.104.170 (talk) 02:29, 22 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Other deep lakes (not yet ranked)

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These are some other deep lakes that could be added to the list after some further research. I've only included lakes deeper than 50 m, as a proper ranking of shallower lakes seems unlikely. I've also included some basic placeholder elements, for ease of copy-and-paste techniques. Rupert Clayton 20:23, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

By maximum depth

[edit]
Name Country Region Depth
        meters feet
1. Asian lake country region meters feet
2. African lake country region meters feet
3. Antarctic lake Antarctica meters feet
4. South American lake country region meters feet
5. North American lake country region meters feet
6. European lake country region meters feet
7. Oceanian lake country region meters feet
? Hawea New Zealand South Island 392 1,286
? Heaven Lake North Korea, China 384 1,260
? Fyresvatn Norway Telemark county 377
? Suldalsvatn Norway Rogaland county 376
? Maggiore Italy, Switzerland 372
? Shikotsu Japan 363
? Pend Oreille United States Idaho 351 1,150
? Garda Italy 346
? Atitlán Guatemala 340
? Chicabal Guatemala 331
? Dead Sea Jordan, Palestine, Israel 330 1,083
? Bandak Norway Telemark county 325
? Lundevatn Norway Rogaland and Vest-Agder counties 314 [1]
? Wanaka New Zealand South Island 311
? Geneva Switzerland, France 310
? Morar United Kingdom Scotland (Highland) 310 1,017
? Storsjøen Norway 309
? Kurile Russia Kamchatka 306
? Totak Norway 306
? Tyrifjorden Norway 295
? Hazen Canada 289
? Ohrid Macedonia, Albania 288 940
? Titicaca Peru, Bolivia 284 932
? Michigan United States 282 923
? Breimsvatn Norway 278
? Singkarak Indonesia 268 879
? Khövsgöl Mongolia 267 876
? Waikaremoana New Zealand North Island 256 840
? Constance Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtestein 254
? Kauhako Crater[2] United States Hawaii 248
? Mount Katmai crater lake United States Alaska ~246
? Ontario Canada, United States 244 802
? Nisser Norway 240
? Røssvatnet Norway 240[3]
? Jølstravatn Norway 233
? Sary-Chelek Kyrgyzstan 234
? Kara-Kul Tajikistan 230
? Ladoga Russia 230 755
? Ness United Kingdom Scotland (Highland) 230 754
? Oppstrynsvatn Norway 230
? Huron Canada, United States 229 750
? Ranau Indonesia 229
? Tunnsjøen Norway 222
? Hornavan Sweden 221[4]
? Dingevatn Norway 220
? Lucerne Switzerland 214
? Mashu Japan 211.5
? Nyos Cameroon 210
? Selbusjøen Norway 206
? Kviteseidvatnet Norway 201
? Coleridge New Zealand South Island 200
? St. Clair Australia Tasmania 200
? Cuicocha Ecuador 200
? Zug Switzerland 198
? Kaniere New Zealand South Island 197
? Traunsee Austria 191
? Lomond United Kingdom Scotland 189.9
? Seneca United States New York 188 618
? Taupo New Zealand 186 610
? Salda Turkey 184
? Attersee Austria 171
? Albano Italy 170
? Torneträsk Sweden 168
? Bracciano Italy 165
? Monowai New Zealand South Island 161
? Nemrut Turkey 155
? Neuchâtel Switzerland 152
? Fuxian Lake China 151.1
? Bolsena Italy 151
? Phoksundo Nepal Dolpo 145
? Vojmsjön Sweden 145
? Stor-Blåsjön Sweden 144
? Millstätter See Austria 142
? Stor-Rensjön Sweden 140
? Lünersee Austria 139
? Virihaure Sweden 138
? Portsmouth Mine Pit United States Minnesota 137 450
? Kallsjön Sweden 134
? Vastenjaure Sweden 134
? Femund Norway Hedmark and Sør-Trøndelag counties 131
? Kultsjön Sweden 130
? Ohau New Zealand South Island 129 423
? Shiel United Kingdom Scotland 128
? Vättern Sweden 128
? Hallstätter See Austria 125
? Athabasca Canada 124 407
? Benmore New Zealand South Island 120 394
? Onega Russia 120 394
? Randsfjorden Norway Oppland county 120
? Siljan Sweden 120[5] 394
? Tekapo New Zealand South Island 120 394
? Umbozero Russia 115
? Wolfgangsee Austria 114
? Edward Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda 112 367
? Burdur Turkey 110
? Brunner New Zealand South Island 109 358
? Turkana Ethiopia, Kenya 109 358
? Pyramid Lake United States Nevada 108.5 356
? Vänern Sweden 106 348
? Gazivode Serbia 105
? Segozero Russia Karelia 103
? Toplitzsee Austria 103
? Monoun Cameroon 100
? Sjenica Serbia 100
? Torch United States Michigan (Antrim County) 96 315
? Päijänne Finland 95.3
? Awe United Kingdom Scotland 93.6
? Akkajaure Sweden 92
? Đerdap Serbia 92
? Inari Finland 92
? Alqueva Portugal 90
? Fierza Serbia 90
? İznik Turkey 90[6]
? Suvasvesi Finland 89
? Bishoftu Ethiopia 87
? Tarawera New Zealand North Island 87
? Wörthersee Austria 85.2
? Victoria Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 83 269
? Saimaa Finland 82
? Bosumtwi Ghana 81
? Plansee Austria 78
? Krater Acıgöl[7] Turkey Nevşehir province. 76.5
? Wastwater United Kingdom England (Cumbria) 76
? Mingachevir Azerbaijan 75
? Paasselkä Finland 75
? Sevan Armenia 75[8]
? Zlatar Serbia 75
? Storsjön Sweden 74
? Saganaga United States Minnesota 73 240
? Blue Lake Australia South Australia 70 230
? Perućac Serbia 70
? Pukaki New Zealand South Island 70 230
? Erne United Kingdom Northern Ireland 69
? Vanda Antarctica 69
? Zeller See Austria 69
? Mondsee Austria 68
? Imandra Russia 67
? Bullen Merri Australia Victoria 66
? Fuchslsee Austria 66
? Pawlo Ethiopia 65
? Erie Canada, United States 64 210
? Keitele Finland 64
? Windermere United Kingdom England (Cumbria) 64
? Kovdozero Russia 63
? Malaren Sweden 63
? Näsijärvi Finland 63
? Ullswater United Kingdom England (Cumbria) 63
? Höytiäinen Finland 62
? Heiterwanger See Austria 61
? Kallvesi Finland >60
? Pielinen Finland 60
? Puula Finland 60
? Zavoj Serbia 60
? Albert Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda 58 190
? Haweswater Reservoir United Kingdom England (Cumbria) 57
? Coniston United Kingdom England (Cumbria) 56.1
? Prespa Greece, Macedonia, Albania 54
? Sommen Sweden 53
? Pyhäjärvi Finland 50
? Topozero Russia 50
? Poteriteri New Zealand South Island unknown

convert with 449 metres (1,473 ft) and 315 feet (96 m)

sources added:

Europe

Africa

Asia

  • Lakes deeper than 50 m from [List of lakes in Indonesia]] (in progress)


Oceania

General

  • all lakes deeper than 50 m from the article Crater lake
  • additional info available from [1]

By mean depth

[edit]
Name Country Region Depth
        meters feet
1. Asian lake country region meters feet
2. African lake country region meters feet
3. Antarctic lake Antarctica meters feet
4. South American lake country region meters feet
5. North American lake country region meters feet
6. European lake country region meters feet
7. Oceanian lake country region meters feet
? O'Higgins-San Martín Chile, Argentina Aysén (Chile), Santa Cruz (Argentina) ?
? Great Slave Canada Northwest Territories 41 135
? Matano Indonesia 37

References

  1. ^ (possibly 414 m deep, but this appears to be mistranscribed)
  2. ^ Kauhako Crater must rank as perhaps the world's deepest lake relative to its surface area. Although the lake is only about 50 m across, it has been investigated down to a floor at 248 m below it surface. Terrestrial analogs to lunar sinuous rilles - Kauhako Crater and channel, Kalaupapa, Molokai, and other Hawaiian lava conduit systems {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ 231 m before construction of a dam in 1957.
  4. ^ Possibly 228 m deep (see List of lakes in Sweden). Unclear which source is more authoritative.
  5. ^ Possibly 134 m deep (see List of lakes in Sweden). Unclear which source is more authoritative.
  6. ^ Maximum depths of "about 80 m" and 90 m are listed for Lake İznik.
  7. ^ Note: Krater Acıgöl is a small crater lake in Nevşehir province, and not the larger, shallower salt lake called Acıgöl in the Aegean Region.
  8. ^ Depth was 95 m before Soviet irrigation projects.

Lake O'Higgins/San Martin

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Given that sources refer to Lake O'Higgins/San Martin as having a maximum depth of 836 m, it would be useful to have additional references and statistical information on the world's 5th deepest lake. I have not been able to find information on it's average depth and volume, for example. Because of it's relatively large surface area and complex shorline, I suspect that the average depth of Lake O'Higgins/San Martin would be less than the 350m established for Crater Lake, in Oregon. --Pkrnger (talk) 15:52, 25 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The authenticity of newspaper reports (in Spanish) cited in 2003 for the maximum depth of this lake should be scrutinized. My suspicions are based on the fact that other than subglacial Lake Vostok (which may be as low as 580 to 650 meters[2] and as high as >900 meters depth), there is no other lake of glacial origin that comes close to the reported 836m maximum depth for Lake O'Higgins/San Martin. Furthermore, the statistical information about this lake is notably incomplete--Pkrnger (talk) 22:23, 26 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A comparison of deepest lakes based on average depths

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At the present time, based on a comparison of average depths among the deepest lakes of the world, Crater Lake, OR is the deepest lake in the Western Hemisphere, and it ranks as the third deepest in the world ([3]). Lakes Baikal and Tanganyika remain in first and second place, however.--Pkrnger (talk) 15:55, 25 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That pesky Caspian Sea

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There has been a bit of low-level controversy on the lake lists over time as to whether the Caspian Sea should be listed as a lake or as a sea (or perhaps an 'inland ocean'). The main voice advocating for keeping the Caspian out of the main lists (by depth, area, volume, etc.) has been Kwamikagami. His argument (if I can summarize it accurately) is that, geologically, the Caspian, like the Black, and Mediterranean seas, is a remnant of the ancient Tethys Ocean, which means it is very different from many lakes, that have formed through different geological mechanisms.

A counter-argument is that geographers, biologists and limnologist generally see the Caspian as a huge inland salt lake. It is endorheic (no outlet), and can be compared to other large (but still much smaller) endorheic salt lakes, such as the Aral Sea, Great Salt Lake and Lake Van. Another counter-argument is that many people's intuitive definition for a lake is an inland body of water, not connected to the world's oceans.

My feeling is that there is more benefit from including the Caspian in these lists (with an appropriate note pointing out that it's not lake-like in all respects) than in excluding it, or putting it in a list of its own. Among the arguments for inclusion is that most previous list of lakes (in other encyclopedias, etc.) do include the Caspian. The "separate list" option doesn't seem to be a good approach, as the point of a list is to allow easy direct comparisons. By including a detailed note on the differing definitions of "lake" we can encourage people to better understand that "lake" doesn't mean the same thing in all contexts.

The thoughts of other Wikipedia editors would be very welcome. I would like to try to achieve some consensus here before we get into any further reverting of these pages. Rupert Clayton (talk) 22:48, 22 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Since the Ocean is also endorheic, that's hardly a factor. As for being able to be compared to lakes, it can also be compared to the Ocean. That's rather meaningless: it can be compared to the lakes on Titan, but that doesn't make it extraterrestrial. Because it is not clearly a lake, I think it appropriate to separate it out for clarity. This still allows easy direct comparison: It's on the same page and formatted with the same parameters. I'd also like to see refs that biologists and limnologists 'generally regard it as a lake'. I would think they would simply follow custom unless they were working on the geology. The only argument I see in favor of integrating it into the list is geographical / common usage; the argument for separating it is geological. To me at least, those seem to more or less balance out, and splitting the list in two but keeping everything on the same page reflects that.
It's also not true that the Caspian is universally counted as a lake in popular usage. 'Lakes by depth' is not a common comparison, but 'lakes by area' (what most people mean by one lake being bigger than another) is a common comparison, and even in popular usage the rankings ("X is the 4th largest lake" etc.) often only make sense if the Caspian is excluded. Splitting the list allows us to have it both ways.
As for limnology, you're forgetting oceanography. The Russian Acadamy of Sciences treats Caspian studies as oceanology, not limnology. At least, it's directed by the Caspian Branch of the P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology.[4] Consider also a couple articles on the Caspian published in the last couple issues of Oceanology:[5] "Diatomaceous oozes of the Middle Caspian Sea" and "Hydrochemical studies in the Central and Southern Caspian Sea aboard R/V Issledovatel’ Kaspiya (October 2007) within the Framework of the Ecosystem Monitoring by the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography and the Caspian Scientific-Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography". Then there's The Caspian Sea Environment, a series on environmental chemistry [!] that covers "the physical oceanography, marine chemistry and pollution, and marine biology of the Caspian Sea". The Caspian also appears to be considered oceanic by Iran and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Comission of UNESCO, which discuss "marine data" in the context of the Caspian and the Persian Gulf, but not in the context of the salt lake Urumia.[6] kwami (talk) 23:15, 22 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I would think our main criteria here should be "what's most useful to a person reading one of the list pages". That person could have various aims, and we need to consider a very wide background (lots of people with a general interest, and also various spoecialists). Accuracy of classification within certain specialties may have some relevance, too, but if they disagree, we still need to have some consistent approach we can use. You ask for references for limologists' and biologists' view that the Caspian is a lake. Jacob Kalff's , Limnology (Prentice Hall, 2001) has sections dedicated to both the Aral and the Caspian in Chapter 5. Hydrology and Climate. Biologists... hmm... I don't know for sure. I think they might be less concerned. Probably the endorheic character and salt levels have more significance for them than whether we define it as a sea or a lake.
My comment about comparing the Caspian to other lakes was simply because I suspect that's something many people visiting these pages will want to do. I accept that that does not settle whether the Caspian really is a lake by any definition. I do see a difference between listing the Caspian within the same ordered list as other lakes and placing it separately. The point of lists is to see characteristics, measurements, etc. in a sequence.
The significance of the lack of an outlet is that this is what distinguishes the Caspian from the Black Sea in common understanding. If a body of water is at essentially the same elevation as the oceans and connected to them by a free-flowing passage then it's a lot less "lakey".
It seems to me that the only discipline that generally views the Caspian as a sea or ocean is geology. I understand why that is (way back, it used to be an ocean), and I do think we should note that fact on these pages. But I don't see the lake lists as being particularly relevant to geologists. I would have thought the main audiences would be (1) general readers with a curiosity for the largest, deepest, etc. (2) people with some level of interest in limnology, (3) people with a general interest in one of the lakes mentioned. Rupert Clayton (talk) 23:50, 22 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Here's one possible compromise solution: we keep the Caspian in the same list as the other large lakes, but don't include it in the rankings, i.e. we give it a blank cell where the other lakes have a number. We may need to do a little behind the scenes work to get sorting working right, but that might handle it's distinctive nature. Rupert Clayton (talk) 23:55, 22 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You mention that there is a certain level of common perception that the Caspian is a lake, but you ignore one very major counterargument that uses exactly the same data--no one calls it the "Caspian Lake" and (at least in English) everyone calls it the "Caspian Sea". Most people would be taken aback to see the Caspian in a list of lakes, just as most people consider the tomato to be a vegetable rather than a fruit. Common perception can be used to push both the "sea" and the "lake" agenda with respect to the Caspian. Other arguments need to be pursued in terms of how to list that body of water in Wikipedia. (Taivo (talk) 00:03, 23 December 2008 (UTC))[reply]
I actually think we should keep the rankings, because for people who do consider it a lake, that's important. I see the split as geology/oceanography/some public vs geography/limnology/other public. kwami (talk) 00:15, 23 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Personally I'd want at least a mention of the Caspian Sea. The List of lakes by area page seems like a reasonable way to do it. The List of islands by area takes a similar, but slightly different approach to the question of whether Australia is an island or not. There are lots of geographic terms that are defined in various ways and used loosely in general, and "lake" is one of them. I don't think it is useful to seek a strict standard definition of what is or isn't a lake. Common usage is loose. It doesn't matter that its name uses the word "sea" instead of "lake". By that logic the Salton Sea is not a lake. Nor is Great Pond in Maine, even though it is much larger than many things named "lake". There's a difference between the set of lakes and the set of things with the word "lake" in their name. Pfly (talk) 07:45, 24 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I had been considering adding the Black, Med, & Ocean Seas for comparison. So you agree that we should make the Caspian somehow more distinct than a footnote? kwami (talk) 08:27, 24 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Choice of colors for continents

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We have what, off-pink ( #FFCCFF ) and off-salmon ( #FFCBCB )? Europa and Asia are very hard to tell apart at a glance, and ideally that is what you want when you color code things. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aapold (talkcontribs) 02:07, 10 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

All due respect to whoever created the table in current shape/info; however, I would rather prefer "the region" start with the continent and make it sortable. Any or table info is better than mere color coding. I hope you would agree. Сенко (talk) 17:33, 17 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

E..g.:

Name Country Region Depth
        meters feet
1. Asian lake country Asia meters feet
2. African lake country Africa meters feet
3. Antarctic lake Antarctica meters feet
4. South American lake country South America meters feet
5. North American lake country North America meters feet
6. European lake country Europe meters feet
7. Oceanian lake country Oceania meters feet
? O'Higgins-San Martín Chile, Argentina South America,
Aysén (Chile), Santa Cruz (Argentina)
?
? Great Slave Canada North America
Northwest Territories
41 135
? Matano Indonesia Asia 37

Boesmansgat / Pozzo Del Merro

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Bushman's Hole and Pozzo Del Merro, natural holes that reach around or beyond 1000 feet deep, both have mean depths that would be included on the list, but only if you ignore the rocks that are in the way before they widen out again. They are also ponds, not lakes, but that's more subjective. Still, having mean depths that are probably well over 500 feet probably deserves an honorable mention. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.85.30.115 (talk) 10:56, 2 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

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