Water has always acted on a person not only bewitching, but also calming. People came to her and told about their sorrows, in her imperturbable waters they found special peace and harmony. That is why the numerous lakes of Russia are so remarkable!

The beauty and charm of the water surface

A calm mirror surface is stagnant water, surrounded on all sides by banks. It is also a place of worship, aesthetic pleasure. What are lakes? They can be deep (sometimes deeper than the seas) and shallow, fresh and salty, large in area and small, of volcanic, tectonic, moraine origin. Their age also differs from each other. There are no ugly or boring ones, the map shows that there are an infinite number of them, and each of them is beautiful and perfect in its own way.

Surely any traveler who has visited this country at least once, or a resident, will have his favorite or even sacred lake. In any case, their visit is highly recommended. It is worth seeing Baikal or Teletskoye Lake once and you will fall in love with it once and for all! This is the place of power that fills you with energy after working years, stuffy city air and long social contact. It is important not only to contemplate beauty with reverence, but also to protect it.

Deep abyss of Baikal

What is the most Russia? Of course, this is the mysterious and unique Baikal! Every student has heard of him. It's just magical and unique place with pure, pure water, which always has a deep blue tint. If there is not a cloud in the sky, then the surface of the water becomes just emerald! The deep lake is of high ecological value and is included in the UNESCO list. The water here is fresh, and the depth reaches 1642 meters, which allows it to be compared with the depths of the Arctic Ocean (depth 1220 meters). If suddenly it does not remain, then the most deep lake Russia will be able to quench the thirst of the population of the whole world for 50 years, as it makes up one fifth of all reserves.

It is considered the oldest lake. Think for yourself - its age is 25 million years! Its depth is due to a large crack in the earth's crust. The continental depression is gradually increasing. Olkhon Island, which stretches for 71 kilometers, remains the largest here. It divides Baikal into Small ( East End) and the Big Sea (western part).

The waters here are crystal clear, so you can see as deep as 40 meters, which allows you to distinguish the local deep-sea inhabitants. The water temperature is usually around +8 degrees Celsius. Baikal is also famous for its hot springs. Two large cities that are located near its waters are Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. Near the calm surface of the lake is not entirely serene. Earthquakes, small and large, happen all the time.

Pearl of Karelia - Lake Onega

Baikal is the most a nice place, but there are also other lakes in Russia that captivate travelers with their mystery. Onega is one of them. They even began to call it the sea, since it is the second largest in Europe after Ladoga. The length of the lake is 245 kilometers, the greatest depth is 130 meters. Since the time of the distant ice age, many local inhabitants have remained here - fish and amphibians. This place is a storehouse of prey for lovers of fishing. The northern area is ideal for valuable fish species: trout, salmon, sterlet.

Lake Peipus - the majesty of the dunes

Where is one of the largest and most beautiful lakes located? In the northern regions, like most others. Lake Peipsi is located near Latvia and Estonia. It separates these two countries from the Pskov region. The largest length is 90 kilometers and the width is 47 kilometers. The lake is constantly replenished with water from many rivers and large streams. What is remarkable about the shores of Lake Peipus from the north side? They are a continuous chain of dunes that stretch into the distance. Their height is quite impressive - about eight, and in some places all 10 meters. Toward the west the dunes become flatter. The south side is boulders of Finnish granite.

There is also an island, lost in the brilliant water surface. It is located in the south of the lake and has the name Zhelachek (Mezha). It also has two small villages.

No less interesting for travelers is the western part of Lake Peipsi. The shores in this area have their own unique outlines. Calm bays are combined with steep capes and gently sloping coast. These capes are so high that they reach up to 24 meters. The depth of the lake is 7.5 meters. What is the bottom? It consists mainly of sand, clayey and sandy silt. This is not such a crystal clear body of water as Baikal or the lakes of the Alps, from an aesthetic point of view. Silty precipitation makes the water cloudy. This place also did not go unnoticed by anglers. The vast waters are rich in a variety of fish. There is burbot, pike perch, salmon and others.

Velikaya Ladoga

How beautiful are the names of lakes in Russia! For example, conquering us with the beauty of the nature of the North and becoming a savior during the Second World War. The northern shores are dotted with labyrinths of straits. There are even islands and trees growing on them. The bottom relief systematically increases from the south (51 meters) to the north (depth 230 meters).

There are many islands here, which are frozen in the form of sheer bizarre rocks, their height reaches 70 meters. The eastern coast is not as indented as the western coast, where forests and shrubs can be found. Lake Ladoga is fed by the waters of thirty-two rivers. The Neva River flows out of it in a full-flowing stream, the length of which reaches 74 kilometers.

By the way, there is a large number of rainy days here, although the greatest amount of precipitation occurs in the warm season. The winds are quite strong, which leads to unrest on the lake. The waves can be up to four meters high. The water temperature in the warm season is kept at around +8 degrees Celsius.

Caspian sea-lake

This is not only the largest lake in the world, but also quite deep. Although scientifically it is considered to be the sea. Deep in their own way are mysterious and interesting for the traveler. In the northern part, the depth is small - only 5 meters. In the middle it is already getting deeper - 20 meters. The southern part of the Caspian Sea is the deepest - it reaches 1025.

This sea or lake is unevenly salty. In places where the mouths of the river are located, the water is fresher. The water level in the lake is 25 meters below the ocean. On the coast are big cities like Baku, Makhachkala. The climate is sharply continental, so there are low temperatures in winter and quite high in summer. The large Urals and Volga flow into the Caspian Sea.

Salt Lake Chany

There are also salt lakes in Russia, such as Chany. It is located in the Novosibirsk region and belongs to the drainless ones. The word "vats" in translation from Turkic means "big vessel". Already in October, the lake is covered with ice and thaws only in May. Although its waters warm up to 28 degrees Celsius in summer. The area of ​​the lake always fluctuates and reaches 2000 square meters. It does not differ in great depth - only 2 meters is the average. Along the banks, which are very indented, there are thickets of reeds, reeds, various shrubs and sedges.

What else is remarkable about Lake Chany? On the water surface, you can count up to 70 islets, some of them are not only large, but also represent amazing landscapes, have a great variety of plants and rare animal species. Salt lakes in Russia are distinguished by varying degrees of salinity. The vats are slightly salty, as the main food is melted snow. The weather on the lake is a reflection of the continental climate. In winter, snow cover can reach up to 30 cm in height.

For tourists, there are many recreation centers, there are corners where you can fish. Those who prefer boating should be careful - there is a storm here very often. Chany is also considered mysterious, and according to some stories, anomalous place. There is a legend that there is a strange animal of huge size that harms people and livestock.

- volcanic beauty

This beautiful creation of nature is located in the very south of the Kamchatka Peninsula and is considered freshwater. The maximum depth reaches 306 meters, so it can be safely attributed to deep water. Some of the islands that can be found on the surface are peculiar volcanic domes that have risen from the bottom as a result of squeezing magma.

Such lakes on the territory of Russia are of particular value, therefore the Kuril lake is included in the UNESCO heritage list. There are even those called "Kuril springs". Their temperature reaches 45 degrees Celsius.

The cold impregnability of Lake Taimyr

This unique lake in terms of area it can only be compared with Baikal. It is considered the northernmost on the planet. What unusual can a traveler find here? Characterized not only by the cold beauty and grandeur, but also by the fact that here the water is constantly changing its level. The lake is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory beyond the Arctic Circle on the peninsula of the same name in the tundra.

We can say that the local waters are covered with ice all year round. The greatest depth is 26 meters. Water temperature in summer time year does not rise above 8 degrees Celsius, and in winter it drops to zero. The thickness of the ice can reach three meters. Oddly enough, in the waters of Taimyr there are fish - whitefish, muksun, whitefish, vendace.

Moraine lakes of Russia. Seliger

Forests, swamps, cozy coves - all this is the surrounding area of ​​\u200b\u200bLake Seliger. It is located in the Tver and Novgorod regions. The landscapes in this area are predominantly hilly, and in some places plains prevail. Beaches of natural origin contrast with sheer shores covered with coniferous trees. About 160 medium and small islands can be counted on the lake. The surface is covered with ice during the cold season and opens only in May. All lakes in Russia are accompanied by unique vegetation. Seliger grows not only coniferous trees, but also oaks, bird cherry, mountain ash.

What are moraine lakes? These are very picturesque corners of nature, their amazing beauty and unusual origin are simply amazing. The moraine-type lakes of Russia are the so-called "hollows" or "closed basins", which appeared many years ago as a result of the melting of blocks of ice, therefore they are also commonly called "glacial". They can be found only in the north and northwest of Russia. They rarely differ in large size and depth. Usually their average depth does not exceed 10 meters, the banks are usually heavily indented. The largest of those reservoirs that can be attributed to moraine are Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Seliger, Ilmen, once called the Slovenian Sea by the Slavs.

Conclusion

As we can see, Russia is a lake region, which will definitely appeal to even the most sophisticated traveler.

All of us at the word "lake" imagine a kind of quiet body of water, surrounded by a visible line of the coast. There will be no such lakes in this article. Have you ever heard of lakes where storm surges occur and are larger than some seas? I present to your attention a selection of "the largest lakes in the world", which includes the 10 largest lakes. The article is divided into three pages to accommodate more interesting information and photographs. Read, rate, leave comments and feedback in the discussions.

10th place

So, at the end of the list of the largest lakes in the world, we have a lake called Nyasa. It is located simultaneously in Africa, in Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi.

It is located in a discharge depression at an altitude of 472 m. The area is 30.8 thousand sq. km. Depth up to 706 m (in the northern part of the reservoir, where its bottom lies significantly below sea level). The shores are steep and rocky, high, especially in the north and northeast.

The southern part of the basin lies in a wide depression, the banks are framed by a narrow strip of the coastal plain. The average annual inflow of water into the lake (river runoff plus precipitation) is about 72 km2, evaporation is about 66 km3.

The lake is rich in fish (about 230 species), in particular species of tilapis, crocodiles, hippos, and many waterfowl. With the light hand of some scientists, it is called the birthplace of aquarium fish. Also, Lake Nyasa is characterized by severe storms and surfs near steep banks, which impede navigation (passengers are transported only during the day).

Small, isn't it?) There are 9 more such “crumbs” ahead, and they will be by no means smaller ...

9th place

9th place - Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake- the largest lake in Canada, the fourth largest in North America. The lake is located on the Arctic Circle, between 65 and 67 degrees north latitude and 118 and 123 degrees west longitude, at a level of 186 m above sea level.

The lake has an outflow through the Great Bear River into the Mackenzie River. The only settlements on the lake are Deline on the southwest end and Echo Cove on the northeast side.

On this lake you can see such beauty)

8th place

In eighth place in the list of the largest lakes in the world - Baikal- concurrently also the deepest lake on the planet.

Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, the deepest lake on the planet Earth, the largest natural reservoir of fresh water. The lake and coastal areas are distinguished by a unique diversity of flora and fauna, most of the species are endemic. Locals and many in Russia traditionally call Baikal the sea.

More than half of the year the lake is ice-bound, the freezing period is January 15 - May 1, navigation is carried out from June to September. Since 1956, the lake has been an integral part of the Irkutsk (Baikal) reservoir of long-term regulation, formed by the dam of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station.

Baikal is located in the center of Asia, in Russia, on the border Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. The lake stretches from north to southwest for 636 km in the form of a giant crescent. The width of Baikal ranges from 25 to 80 km.

Olkhon Island

The water surface area is 31,722 sq. km, which is approximately equal to the area of ​​countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands or Denmark. The length of the coastline is 2,100 km.

The lake is located in a kind of basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges and hills. At the same time, the western coast is rocky and steep, the relief of the eastern coast is more gentle (in some places the mountains recede from the coast for tens of kilometers).

7th place

Lake Tanganyika- a large lake in Central Africa. This is one of the largest lakes in the world and is equally ancient in origin. In terms of volume and depth, Tanganyika ranks second after Lake Baikal. The shores of the lake belong to four countries - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi.

The lake is about 650 km long and 40-80 km wide. The area is 34 thousand sq. km. Lies at an altitude of 773 meters above sea level in the tectonic basin of the East African Rift Zone. Coastal landscapes, as a rule, are huge rocks and only on the eastern side of the coast are gentle. On west coast the steep side walls of the East African Rift Zone, which form the coastline, reach 2,000 m in height. The coastline is dotted with bays and bays. The largest of them is Burton Bay. The lake is fed by several tributaries. The only outflowing river - Lukuga (Lukuga) begins in the middle part of the west coast and flows west, connecting with the Zaire River, which flows into the Atlantic.

The lake is home to hippos, crocodiles, and a lot of waterfowl. Fishing and shipping are well developed.

The antiquity of the lake and the long period of isolation ended with the development a large number endemic organisms, including those from the family Cichlidae (cichlids). Of the more than 200 species of fish living in the lake, about 170 are endemic.

Tanganyika is inhabited to a depth of approximately 200 m, below this mark there is high concentration hydrogen sulfide and life is absent to the very bottom. This layer of the lake is a huge "burial ground" consisting of organic silt and sedimentary mineral compounds.

The water temperature of Tanganyika strictly differs in layers. So, in the upper layer, the temperature ranges from 24 to 30 degrees, with a decrease at great depths. Because of different density water and the absence of a bottom current, the layers do not mix, and the temperature at the lower horizons reaches only 6-8 degrees.

The depth of the temperature jump layer is about 100 m. The Tanganika water is very transparent (up to 30 m). Many salts are dissolved in it in small concentrations, so that in its composition it resembles a highly diluted marine one. Water hardness (mainly due to magnesium salts) ranges from 8 to 15 degrees. Water has an alkaline reaction, pH 8.0 - 9.5.

The lake was discovered in 1858 by English travelers R. Burton and J. Speke.

6th place

The sixth largest lake in the world is Aral Sea

Collector-drainage waters coming from the fields into the bed of the Syrdarya and Amudarya caused deposits of pesticides and various other agricultural pesticides, appearing in places on 54 thousand sq. km of the former seabed covered with salt. Dust storms carry salt, dust and pesticides to a distance of up to 500 km. Sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate are airborne and destroy or slow down the development of natural vegetation and crops. The local population suffers from a high prevalence of respiratory diseases, anemia, cancer of the larynx and esophagus, as well as digestive disorders. Diseases of the liver and kidneys, eye diseases have become more frequent.

In 2001, as a result of a drop in the water level, Vozrozhdeniye Island was connected to the mainland. On this island, the Soviet Union tested bacteriological weapons: the causative agents of anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, plague, typhoid, smallpox, as well as botulinum toxin were tested here on horses, monkeys, sheep, donkeys and other laboratory animals. This is the reason for the fear that deadly microorganisms have retained their viability, and infected rodents may become their distributors in other regions.

According to the calculations of scientists, it is no longer possible to save the Aral Sea. Even if we completely refuse to take water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, the previous water level in it will be restored no earlier than in 200 years.

The Aral Sea once occupied 68 thousand square kilometers and was the fourth largest in the world. Now its area is about 10% of the recorded in the 60s last century. Pictures from 1989 and 2003:

This is a photo from 2008

From the 1950s to the present, projects have been repeatedly proposed for the construction of a canal for transferring water from the Ob basin to the Aral Sea basin, which would significantly develop the economy of the Aral Sea region (in particular, agriculture) and partially revive the Aral Sea. Such construction will require very large material costs (on the part of several states - Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan), therefore, there is no talk of the practical implementation of these projects yet.

Some scientists predict the complete disappearance of the Aral Sea by 2020...

5th place

In the middle of the list of the largest lakes in the world is lake michigan- one of the North American Great Lakes.

The only one of the Great Lakes that is entirely within the United States. Located south of Lake Superior, connected to Lake Huron by the Mackinac Strait, to the Mississippi River system - the Chicago-Lockport Canal.

From the point of view of hydrography, Michigan and Huron form a single system, but geographically they are considered to be separate lakes.

Square Michigan- about 57,750 km2 (the third largest among the Great Lakes), about 500 km long, about 190 km wide. The surface height above sea level is 177 m (as in Huron), the depth is up to 281 m. It is covered with ice for about four months a year. Islands - Beaver, North Manitou, South Manitou.

The states of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin have access to the lake. Major cities on Lake Michigan include Chicago, Evanston and Highland Park (Illinois), Milwaukee and Green Bay (Wisconsin), Gary and Hammond (Indiana).

The name of the lake comes from the word mishigami, which means "big water" in the Ojibwa language. The first European to discover the lake was the Frenchman Jean Nicolet in 1634.

4th place

Lake Huron is the fourth largest lake in the world. It is a lake in the USA and Canada, one of the North American Great Lakes. Located east of Lake Michigan, connected to it by the Strait of Mackinac. From the point of view of hydrography, Michigan and Huron form a single system (they are connected by the Mackinac Strait), but geographically they are considered to be separate lakes.

The Huron area is about 59.6 thousand km2 (the second largest among the Great Lakes). The surface height above sea level is about 176 m (as in Michigan), the depth is up to 229 m.

The states of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario have access to the lake. The main ports on Huron are Saginaw, Bay City, Alpina (USA) and Sarnia (Canada).

The name of the lake, introduced by the French, comes from the name of the Huron Indian tribe.

Manitoulin is located on Huron - the most big Island peace, located in a fresh lake.

3rd place

Closes the top three largest lakes Victoria- lake in East Africa, in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Located in the tectonic trough of the East African platform, at an altitude of 1134 m. This is the 2nd largest fresh lake world after Lake Superior and the most big lake in Africa

The lake was discovered and named after Queen Victoria by British traveler John Henning Speke in 1858.

Square Lake Victoria 68 thousand sq. km, length 320 km, maximum width 275 km. It is part of the Victoria Reservoir. Lots of islands. The high-water Kagera River flows in, the Victoria Nile River flows out. The lake is navigable, the locals are engaged in fishing on it.

The northern coast of the lake crosses the equator. The lake with a maximum depth of 80 m belongs to fairly deep lakes.

Unlike its deep-water neighbors, Tanganyika and Nyasa, which lie within the gorge system of Africa, Lake Victoria fills a shallow depression between the eastern and western sides of the Great Gorge valley. The lake receives a huge amount of water from the rains, more than from all its tributaries.

30 million people live in the vicinity of the lake. On the southern and western shores of the lake, the Haya people live, who knew how to grow coffee long before the arrival of Europeans. Main ports: Entebbe (Uganda), Mwanza, Bukoba (Tanzania), Kisumu (Kenya), near north coast Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

2nd place

On the second place confidently entrenched lake superior- the largest, deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes and, concurrently, the largest freshwater lake in the world.

In the north, Lake Superior is bounded by the territory of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the west - US state Minnesota, in the south - the states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

The basins of Lake Superior and the northern part of Lake Huron were worked out in the crystalline rocks of the southern part of the Canadian Shield, the basins of the other lakes - in the thickness of limestones, dolomites and sandstones of the Paleozoic of the North American Platform. The basin of the Upper Lake was formed as a result of tectonic movements, pre-glacial river and glacial erosion.

The origin of the water mass of the Upper Lake is associated with the melting of the ice sheet, during the retreat of which a number of large lakes were formed in this area, which repeatedly changed their outlines.

In the northern part of the Great Lakes, the coastline is dissected, the islands and shores (up to 400 m high) are rocky, steep, very picturesque, especially the shores of Lake Superior and the northern part of Lake Huron.

Fluctuations in the level of the Upper Lake are artificially regulated for the purposes of navigation, energy, etc. The amplitude of seasonal fluctuations is 30-60 cm, the most high level observed in summer, the lowest - in winter. Short-term level fluctuations caused by strong surge winds and seiches reach 3-4 m, the height of the tides is 3-4 cm

1 place

The Caspian Sea tops the ranking" The largest lakes in the world"Despite the fact that it is called the sea, in fact it is the largest drainless lake on the planet. It is located at the junction of Europe and Asia, and it is called the sea only because of its size. The Caspian Sea is a drainless lake, and the water in it is salty, from 0.05 ‰ near the mouth of the Volga to from 11-13 ‰ in the southeast.

The Caspian Sea is similar in shape to the Latin letter S, its length from north to south is about 1200 kilometers, from west to east - from 195 to 435 kilometers, an average of 310-320 kilometers.

The Caspian Sea is conditionally divided according to physical and geographical conditions into 3 parts - the Northern Caspian, the Middle Caspian and the Southern Caspian. The conditional border between the North and Middle Caspian runs along the line Chechen (island) - Tyub-Karagansky cape, between the Middle and South Caspian - along the line Zhiloy (island) - Gan-Gulu (cape). The area of ​​the Northern, Middle and Southern Caspian is respectively 25, 36, 39 percent of total area Caspian Sea.

The length of the coastline of the Caspian Sea is estimated at about 6500 - 6700 kilometers, with islands - up to 7000 kilometers. The shores of the Caspian Sea in most of its territory are low-lying and smooth. In the northern part, the coastline is indented by water channels and islands of the Volga and Ural deltas, the shores are low and swampy, and the water surface is covered with thickets in many places.

The east coast is dominated by limestone shores adjacent to semi-deserts and deserts. The most winding coasts are on the west coast in the area of ​​the Apsheron Peninsula and on the east coast in the area of ​​the Kazakh Gulf and Kara-Bogaz-Gol.

The territory adjacent to the Caspian Sea is called the Caspian Sea.

Area and volume of water Caspian Sea varies greatly with water level fluctuations. With a water level of 26.75 m, the area is approximately 371,000 km square kilometers, the volume of water is 78,648 cubic kilometers, which is approximately 44 percent of the world's lake water reserves. The maximum depth of the Caspian Sea is in the South Caspian depression, 1025 meters from its surface level. In terms of maximum depth, the Caspian Sea is second only to Baikal (1620 m) and Tanganyika (1435 m). The average depth of the Caspian Sea is 208 meters. In the same time Northern part The Caspian Sea is shallow, its maximum depth does not exceed 25 meters, and the average depth is 4 meters.

In continuation, read also about the most beautiful lakes in Scotland, which is dedicated to a separate photo tape.

Russia is a country with rich and unique natural resources, she has something to surprise and amaze: with forests, and rivers, and fields, and of course with her lakes, too, which are also called " blue eyes our planet”, which is undoubtedly very beautiful and poetic. On her territory Russian Federation there are about two million lakes, their total area is 350 thousand km 2, the volume of water in all lakes is more than 26 thousand m 3. Most of the lakes are of glacial origin.

Large lakes of Russia

The largest lakes located in the European part of Russia are Onega, Ladoga, Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, a huge number of lakes in the "lake region" of the Republic of Karelia.

Lakes of the Asian part of Russia - the Caspian Sea-lake, Baikal, the most northern lake Russia's Taimyr, Far Eastern lake Khanka and salt lake Chany in southwestern Siberia.

The Caspian Lake is the largest drainless, closed reservoir on Earth, its area is 371 thousand km 2, and the level is 28 meters below sea level (in Russia it is the Baltic Sea). Due to the large size and specific structure of the bed (it contains the earth's crust of the oceanic type), it is also called the sea. A conditional border between Europe and Asia passes along its surface, it washes the shores of Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. The Russian Caspian Sea is the territory of the Republic of Dagestan, Kalmykia, Astrakhan region(northern and northwestern part of the Caspian Sea)...

Lake Baikal is one of the most picturesque places in our country, it is the deepest lake on the planet, huge reserves of fresh water are stored here - 85% of all reserves in Russia and 22% of the world. Its area is 31.7 thousand km 2, length - 636 km, width 48 km, max gubina indicators - 1637 m. Baikal is the oldest lake, it is about 30 million years old, its basin is located in a rift basin, its water is especially clean and transparency, the area around the lake (mountains, hills, dense deciduous forests) - a unique picturesque...

North and East Coast Lake Ladoga are located on the territory of the Republic of Karelia, southern and western - Leningrad region. Its area, together with the islands, is 18.3 thousand km 2, this is the largest freshwater lake in Europe. Has access to Atlantic Ocean, more than 40 rivers and lakes flow into it, the Neva River flows out (it flows into the Gulf of Finland Baltic Sea which is part of the Atlantic). In the southern part there are three large bays, large cities on its coast - Priozersk, Shlisselburg, Novaya Ladoga (Leningrad region), Sortavala, Lahdenpokhya (Karelia)...

Located in the northwest of Russia Lake Onega, its 80% is located on the territory of the Republic of Karelia, 20% - Leningrad and Vologda regions. Its area, together with the islands, is 9.7 thousand km 2, it is the second largest freshwater lake in Europe. The lake basin is located at the junction of the Baltic Shield and the Russian Platform. About 50 rivers carry their waters into the lake, one flows out - the Svir. Kondopoga, Petrozavodsk, Medvezhyegorsk (Republic of Karelia) were built on its banks...

Lake Taimyr with an area of ​​4.5 thousand km 2 is called the “northern brother” of Baikal, because it is the second largest fresh lake in the Asian part of Russia. It is located on the Taimyr Peninsula in the Krasnoyarsk Territory of the Russian Federation. The lake is located beyond the Arctic Circle, its surface is covered with ice from September to July. The Upper Taimyr flows into it, the Lower Taimyr (Kara Sea basin) flows out ...

This list of 50 breathtakingly beautiful lakes will surely add to your knowledge and broaden your horizons! This is a list of the most famous lakes in the world, but some may not be familiar to you.

Lake Victoria - Lake Victoria
69485 km2 (26828 sq mi). The largest lake in Africa. It is a border lake, and.

Lake Tanganyika - Lake Tanganyika
32,893 km2 (12,700 sq mi). The lake is not only the 6th largest lake in the world, but it is also the second deepest lake in the world at 1,470 m (4,820 ft) and the longest lake in the world at 676 km (420 miles). Lake Tanganyika is divided between four countries - Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia.

Moraine Lake, Canada - Moraine Lake

Lake Pinatubo, Philippines - Lake Pinatubo
Formed only recently (in 1991) after the monsoon, this crater lake sits atop Mount Pinatubo, active volcano in the Philippines.

Lake Annette, Canada - Lake Annette

Laguna Colorada, Bolivia - Wikiwand Laguna Colorada, Bolivia
Located 4,200 meters above sea level in southwestern Bolivia, Laguna Colorada gets its bright red color from pigment deposits and algae beneath its surface. This is an extremely shallow lake. medium depth 50 cm

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia /
Located in Croatia, the Plitvice Lakes are actually 16 separate bodies of water, and are divided into upper and lower basins of natural dams made up of moss and algae.

Spotted Lake or Kliluk (Spotted Lake), Canada
In Osoyoos, British Columbia, a 38-acre natural phenomenon is a lake that has one of the highest concentrations of minerals in the world.

Dead Sea, Jordan /
The name can be deceiving - in fact, this is the deepest hypermineralized lake in the world. It has a salt concentration 8 times that of the ocean, making it extremely difficult to drown.

Sheosar Lake, Pakistan
Lake of Deosai National Park, in the alpine steppe of the Tibetan Plateau.

Riffelsee, Switzerland
The Riffelsee is an incredible view of a mirrored surface with the Matterhorn in the background.

Peyto Lake, Canada
Peyto Lake is a glacial lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Bill Peyto belongs to the category of colored lakes. The lake has a bright turquoise color, due to the large amount of icy mountain flour sliding into the lake.

Lake Solbjornvannet, Norway

Mirror Lake, California - Mirror Lake - a small, seasonal lake near Tenaya Creek Canyon in the US National Park, Yosemite.

New Zealand also has mirror lake, which has amazing reflective properties, like a mirror. It is one of the great lakes of Asia: Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan), Uhua-Khai (China), Inle (Myanmar), Biwa (Japan), Tonle Sap (Cambodia) and Lake Toba in Sumatra (Indonesia).

Horseshoe Lake, Canada - Horseshoe Lake

emerald lake, Canada - Emerald Lake

Lake Plastiras, Greece - Lake Plastira - Lake Plastiras, Greece
An artificial lake in Greece holds up to 400 million cubic liters of fresh water and is one of the highest in Europe.

Mystic Lake, Montana - Mystic Lake
The largest lake in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana offers several world-famous hiking trails and incredible views.

Yamdrok Tso Lake, Tibet - Yamdrok Tso Lake
This lake in Tibet has over 72 km of peaks and is surrounded by snowy mountains.

Lake Malawi, Tanzania - Lake Malawi / Malawi and Mozambique (Malawi and Mozambique) 30044 km2 (11600 square miles). The lake is divided between Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. Africa's second deepest lake, this tropical reservoir has more fish species than any other lake on Earth.

Lake Louise, Canada

Lake Isabella, Colorado - Lake Isabelle, Colorado
A popular tourist destination, Isabel Lake is an incredible view of the Navajo and Apache peaks.

Crater Lake, Oregon - Crater Lake, Oregon

Barclay Lake, Washington - Barclay Lake, Washinton

Mono Lake, California - Mono Lake
This shallow desert lake of California's Mono County was formed over 760,000 years ago, and has an ecosystem very similar to the Colorada Lagoon.

Ancient underground lake reed flute, China - Reed Flute Cave. This is a limestone cave in Guangxi, China. Age over 180 million years. Since the 1940s, it has become famous all over the world because of the colorful caves around the lake.

Loch Rea(Loch RI or Loch Ríbh) - the geographical center of Ireland, the middle mountains. Loch Ree is the second largest lake on the River Shannon after Loch Derg. The other two major lakes are Loch Allen to the north, and Loch Derg to the south. The province of Leinster in County Roscommon Lake is popular Irish legends about the monster.

Loch Ness lake(Loch Ness, Scotland) Scotland. Loch Ness (Gaelic: Loch Nis) is the second largest Scottish lake in terms of surface area after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest lake in Scotland by volume of water. The deep, freshwater Loch in Scotland is located about 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Inverness. The lake is known for its Loch Ness Monster. Also of interest to tourists is Urquhart Castle east of Drumnadrochit, the lighthouses at Lochend (Bona Lighthouse) and Fort Augusta.

Lake Okanagan is a large, deep lake in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada. The lake is 135 km long and 4-5 km wide. His interesting feature the legend of the Demon of Lake Ogopogo or Naitaka, and the well-known terraces, which are formed by the periodic lowering of the predecessor, glacial Lake Penticton. The maximum depth of the lake is 232 m in the area of ​​Grant Island (called "Whiskey Island" or "Seagull Island" by the locals)

Lake Labynkyr(Labynkyr Lake), Yakutia
This mystical lake located near the Pole of Cold on the territory of Oymyakon uluss. Legends say that a monster lives deep in the water. It attacks dogs, deer and even humans. History tells how once a monster destroyed an Even caravan.

Lake Kanas(pinyin: Kanasi Hu) in the shape of a crescent is a lake in the Altai Prefecture of Xinjiang Province, China. The lake is located in a valley in the Altai mountains, on the border with, Mongolia and. The lake was formed 200,000 years ago, during the Quaternary period, as a result of the movement of a glacier. The Kanas River, flowing out of the lake, merges with the Hemu River, forming the Burkin River, which itself is a tributary of the Irtysh River. Ethnic Tuvans and Kazakhs live in the Kanas valley.

Lake Kok-Kol(Kok-Kol lake) Mysterious lake in Zhambyl region, Kazakhstan. From time to time, the mysterious lake makes some strange sounds, and sometimes you can see signs of ripples, as if a huge creature is drifting inside the lake. Locals believe that the lake is bottomless. Indeed, when hydrographers measured its depth, they could not find the bottom. But, they discovered many channels. This explains the constant water level, despite the fact that nothing flows from the lake and does not flow into it.

Aral Sea(Kazakh: Aral Tenizі; Mongolian: Aral tengis; Tajik: Bahri Aral; Persian: دریای خوارزم Daryâ- you Khârazm) was a closed lake between Kazakhstan in the north and Uzbekistan in the south. The name translates roughly as "sea of ​​islands" (more than 1100 islands were scattered on its waters). The catchment covers parts of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Formerly one of the four largest lakes in the world with an area of ​​68,000 km2 (26,300 sq mi), the Aral Sea has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed the lake were redirected based on Soviet irrigation projects. The drying up of the Aral Sea is called "one of the worst environmental disasters on the planet"

Lake Storshen(Swedish pronunciation: Storsjön, lit. "Great Lake") is the fifth largest lake in Sweden, located in the province of Jämtland (Jämtland). From Storsjön flows the river Indalsälven and the lake contains main island Froson. The city of Östersund is located on its east coast, opposite Fröson. Storsjön is considered to be the birthplace of the sea creatures Storsjöodjuret.

Lake Champlain— Lake Champlain lies directly on Burlington, the border between the US and Canada. At the northern end is the historically interesting Fort Ticonderoga. On Lake Champlain cruises and ferries to Vermont and New York.

Lake Natron is a saline and soda lake in the Arusha region of northern Tanzania. The lake is located near the Kenyan border in the eastern rift branch of the East African Wetlands of International Importance. Lake Natron is a basin in the Ramsar Valley, fed mainly by central Kenya's rivers and hot springs. The unusual color of the water is created by cyanobacteria. Because of the high evaporation rates, salt-loving microorganisms begin to thrive.

Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America, known for its cobalt blue waters and surrounding snowy peaks. Lake Tahoe - state border between the states of California and Nevada, and popular resort Sierra Nevada.

Lake Lucerne- among the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland, it stands out with its amazing panorama of the snow-capped peaks of the Alps, such as the Eiger and the Jungfrau. The lake is served by vintage steamboats that have been plying here since the 1800s. In spring, the Lake Lucerne basin is fed by Mineralbad streams from the top of Mount Rigi.

pigeon lake(Dove Lake) in Tasmania, Australia. Serene Dove Lake - attraction national park near Cradle Mountain. This lake is the home of the legendary Tasmanian Devil.

Lake Como, Italy - Just 45 minutes from bustling Milan. Lake Como is one of the favorite vacation spots of the rich and famous.

Lake Bled- one of the most charming sights of the Old Continent. Lake Bled of the Julian Alps (Slovene: Bled, German: Veldes) is located in Slovenia, near the borders with Italy and Austria.

Lake Synevyr- the largest and most famous lake of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The lake is located in the Gorgany mountain range, in the upper reaches of the Terebly River. The lake has its own beautiful legend about lovers.

The list of the most famous lakes in the world can rightfully include unnamed:

• Lake Ohrid in the Balkan Mountains (located between the Republic of Macedonia and Albania)
• Lake Saimaa (Finland)
• Ladoga/Onega/Chudskoe (Russia)
• Balaton (Hungary)
• Annecy (France)
• Garda / Iseo (Italy)
• Wastwater (England)
• Sogne (Norway)
• Killarney (Ireland)
• Hallstattersee (Austria)
• Königsee / Obersi (Germany)
• Jokulsadlon (Iceland)
• Laguna Verde (Bolivia)
• Lençois Maranhenses (Brazil)
• Nakuru (Kenya)
• Tekapo (New Zealand)
• Lagunas Altiplánicas (Chile)
• Laguna Bacalar (Mexico) and many others.

- a reservoir formed on the surface of the land in a natural depression. Since the lake does not have a direct connection with the ocean, it is a reservoir of slow water exchange.

The total area of ​​lakes on the globe is about 2.7 million km 3, which is 1.8% of the land surface.

The main characteristics of the lake:

• lake area - water surface area;
• coastline length - water edge length;
• lake length - the shortest distance between the two most distant points on a coastline, average width - ratio of area to length;
• lake volume - the volume of the basin filled with water;
• average depth - ratio of water mass volume to area;
• maximum depth - found by direct measurements.

The largest lake in terms of water surface area on Earth is the Caspian (376 thousand km 2 at a water level of 28 m), and the deepest is Baikal (1620 m).

The characteristics of the largest lakes in the world are given in Table. 1.

In each lake, three interconnected components are distinguished: a basin, a water mass, vegetation and animal world reservoir.

Lakes of the world

By position lake basin lakes are divided into ground and underground. The latter are sometimes filled with juvenile water. The subglacial lake in Antarctica can also be classified as an underground lake.

Lake basins can be like endogenous, and exogenous origin, which most significantly affects their size, shape, water regime.

The largest lake basins. They can be located in tectonic depressions (Ilmen), in foothill and intermountain troughs, in grabens (Baikal, Nyasa, Tanganyika). Most large lake basins have a complex tectonic origin, both discontinuous and folded movements participate in their formation (Issyk-Kul, Balkhash, Victoria, etc.). All tectonic lakes are large, and most of them have significant depths, steep rocky slopes. The bottoms of many deep lakes lie below the level of the World Ocean, and the mirror of the oxen is above the level. Certain regularities are observed in the location of tectonic lakes: they are concentrated along faults in the earth's crust, either in rift zones (Syrian-African, Baikal), or frame shields: the Great Bear Lake, the Great Slave Lake, the Great North American Lakes, along the Baltic Shield are located along the Canadian Shield - Onega, Ladoga, etc.

lake name	Maximum surface area, thousand km 2	Height above sea level, m	Maximum depth, m
Caspian Sea
				North America
Victoria
				North America
				North America
Aral Sea
Tanganyika
Nyasa (Malawi)
Big Bear				North America
Great Slave				North America
				North America
Winnipeg				North America
				North America
Ladoga
maracaibo				South America
Bangweulu
Onega
Tonle Sap
Nicaragua				North America
Titicaca				South America
Athabasca				North America
				North America
Issyk-Kul
Big Salty				North America
				Australia

Volcanic lakes occupy craters and calderas extinct volcanoes(Kronopkoye lake in Kamchatka, lakes of Java, New Zealand).

Along with lake basins created by the internal processes of the Earth, there are very numerous lake baths formed due to exogenous processes.

Among them, the most common glacial lakes on the plains and in the mountains, located both in hollows plowed by the glacier, and in depressions between hills with uneven deposition of moraine. The destructive activity of ancient glaciers owes its origin to the lakes of Karelia and Finland, which are elongated in the direction of glacier movement from northwest to southeast along tectonic cracks. In fact, Ladoga, Onega and other lakes have a mixed glacial-tectonic origin. The glacial basins in the mountains include numerous, but small car lakes located in bowl-shaped depressions on the slopes of mountains below the snow line (in the Alps, in the Caucasus, Altai), and trough lakes - in trough-shaped glacial valleys in the mountains.

Lakes among hilly and moraine relief are associated with uneven accumulation of glacial deposits on the plains: in the northwest of the East European Plain, especially on the Valdai Upland, in the Baltic States, Poland, Germany, Canada and in the north of the USA. These lakes are usually shallow, wide, with lobed shores, with islands (Seliger, Valdai, etc.). In the mountains, such lakes arose on the site of former tongues of glaciers (Como, Garda, Würm in the Alps). In areas of ancient glaciation, there are numerous lakes in the hollows of the flow of melted glacial waters, they are elongated, trough-shaped, usually small and shallow (for example, Dolgoye, Krugloye - near Moscow).

Karst lakes are formed in places where rocks are leached by underground and partly surface waters. They are deep, but small, often rounded in shape (in the Crimea, the Caucasus, in the Dinaric and other mountainous regions).

Suffusion lakes are formed in basins of subsiding origin at the site of intensive removal of fine earth and mineral particles by groundwater (south of Western Siberia).

Thermokarst Lakes are created when permafrost is burned or ice melts. Thanks to them, the Kolyma Lowland is one of the most lake regions in Russia. Many relict thermokarst lake basins are located in the northwest of the East European Plain in the former periglacial zone.

eolian lakes arise in blowout basins (Lake Teke in Kazakhstan).

Zaprudnye lakes are formed in the mountains, often after earthquakes, as a result of landslides and landslides blocking river valleys (Lake Sarez in the Murgab valley in the Pamirs).

In the valleys of lowland rivers, the most numerous are floodplain oxbow lakes of a characteristic horseshoe shape, formed as a result of meandering of rivers and subsequent straightening of channels; when rivers dry up in bochagas - reaches, river lakes are formed; in river deltas there are small ilmen lakes, in place of channels, often overgrown with reeds and reeds (ilmens of the Volga delta, lakes of the Kuban floodplains).

On the low coasts of the seas, coastal lakes are characteristic in place of estuaries and lagoons, if the latter are separated from the sea by sandy alluvial barriers: spits, bars.

A special type are organogenic lakes among swamps and coral buildings.

These are the main genetic types of lake basins, determined by natural processes. Their location on the continents is presented in Table. 2. But recently, more and more "man-made" lakes created by man have appeared - the so-called anthropogenic lakes: lakes - reservoirs on rivers, lakes - ponds in quarries, in salt mines, on the site of peat mining.

By genesis of water masses There are two types of lakes. Some have water of atmospheric origin: precipitation, river and groundwater. Such lakes insipid, although in dry climates they can eventually become salty.

Other lakes were part of the World Ocean - these are relic salty lakes (Caspian, Aral). But even in such lakes, the primary sea ​​water can be strongly transformed and even completely displaced and replaced by atmospheric waters (Ladoga and others).

Table 2. Distribution of the main genetic groups of lakes by continents and parts of the world

Genetic groups of lakes	Continents and parts of the world
	Western Europe	Overseas Asia	North America	South America		Australia
Glacial
Glacial-tectonic
Tectonic
Volcanic
Karst
Residual
Lagoon
floodplain

depending from water balance, t.s. According to the conditions of inflow and runoff, lakes are divided into waste and non-drainage. Lakes that discharge part of their waters in the form of river runoff - sewage; a special case of them are flowing lakes. Many rivers can flow into the lake, but only one flows out (the Angara from Lake Baikal, the Neva from Lake Ladoga, etc.). Lakes that do not have a runoff into the oceans - drainless(Caspian, Aral, Big Salt). The water level in such lakes is subject to fluctuations of different duration, which is primarily due to long-term and seasonal climate changes. At the same time, the morphometric characteristics of lakes and the properties of water masses change. This is especially noticeable on lakes in arid regions, which are predicted to have long cycles of humidification and aridity of the climate.

Lake waters, like other natural waters, are characterized by different chemical composition and varying degrees of mineralization.

According to the composition of salts in the water, the lakes are divided into three types: carbonate, sulfate, chloride.

By degree of mineralization lakes are divided into insipid(less than 1% o), brackish(1-24.7% s), salty(24.7-47% o) and mineral(more than 47% c). Baikal can serve as an example of a fresh lake, the salinity of which is 0.1% c \ brackish - the Caspian Sea - 12-13% o, the Big Salt - 137-300% o, the Dead Sea - 260-270% o, in some years - up to 310% s.

In the distribution of lakes with varying degrees of mineralization on the earth's surface, geographical zoning is traced, due to the coefficient of moisture. In addition, those lakes into which rivers flow are distinguished by low salinity.

However, the degree of mineralization can be different within the same lake. So, for example, in the endorheic Lake Balkhash, located in the arid zone, in the western part, where the river flows into. Or, the water is fresh, and in the eastern part, which is connected to the western part only by a narrow (4 km) shallow strait, the water is brackish.

When the lakes are oversaturated from the brine, the salts begin to precipitate and crystallize. Such mineral lakes are called self-planting(for example, Elton, Baskunchak). Mineral lakes in which lamellar fine needles are deposited are known as mud.

plays an important role in the life of lakes thermal regime.

Fresh lakes of the hot thermal zone are characterized by the warmest water near the surface, with depth it gradually decreases. This distribution of temperature over depth is called direct thermal stratification. Lakes of the cold thermal zone have the coldest (about 0 ° C) and light water at the top for almost the entire year; with depth, the water temperature rises (up to 4 ° C), the water becomes denser, heavier. This distribution of temperature over depth is called reverse thermal stratification. Lakes of the temperate thermal zone have a variable stratification according to the seasons of the year: direct in summer, reverse in winter. In spring and autumn there come moments when the vertical temperature is the same (4 °C) at different depths. The phenomenon of temperature constancy over depth is called homothermy(spring and autumn).

The annual thermal cycle in lakes of the temperate zone is divided into four periods: spring heating (from 0 to 4 °C) is carried out due to convective mixing; summer heating (from 4 °C to maximum temperature) - by molecular heat conduction; autumn cooling (from maximum temperature to 4 °C) - by convective mixing; winter cooling (from 4 to 0 ° C) - again by molecular heat conduction.

In the winter period of freezing lakes, the same three phases are distinguished as in rivers: freezing, freezing, opening. The process of formation and melting of ice is similar to rivers. The lakes are usually covered with ice for 2-3 weeks longer than the rivers of the region. The thermal regime of freezing salt lakes resembles that of the seas and oceans.

Dynamic phenomena in lakes include currents, waves and seiches. Stock currents occur when a river flows into a lake and outflow of water from the lake into the river. In flowing lakes, they can be traced throughout the entire water area of ​​the lake, in stagnant lakes - in areas adjacent to the mouth or source of the river.

The height of the waves on the lake is less, but the steepness is greater compared to the seas and oceans.

The movement of water in lakes, along with dense convection, contributes to the mixing of water, the penetration of oxygen into the lower layers, and the uniform distribution of nutrients, which is important for a wide variety of lake inhabitants.

By nutritional properties of the water mass and the conditions for the development of life, lakes are divided into three biological types: oligotrophic, eutrophic, and dystrophic.

Oligotrophic- low-nutrient lakes. These are large deep transparent lakes with greenish-blue water, rich in oxygen, so organic residues are intensively mineralized. Due to the small amount of biogenic elements, they are poor in plankton. Life is not rich, but there are fish, crustaceans. It's many mountain lakes, Baikal, Geneva, etc.

Eutrophic lakes have a high content of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, are shallow (up to 1015 m), well heated, with brownish-green water. The oxygen content decreases with depth, which is why fish and other animals die in winter. The bottom is peaty or silty with an abundance of organic remains. In summer, there is a "bloom" of water due to the strong development of phytoplankton. The lakes are rich in flora and fauna. They are most common in forest-steppe and steppe zones.

Dystrophic lakes are poor in nutrients and oxygen, they are shallow. The water in them is acidic, slightly transparent, brown due to the abundance of humic acids. The bottom is peaty, there are few phytoplankton and higher aquatic vegetation, animals too. These lakes are common in heavily wetlands.

In the last decade, under the conditions of increased supply of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds from the fields, as well as the discharge of wastewater from some industrial enterprises, eutrophication of lakes has been observed. The first sign of this unfavorable phenomenon is a strong bloom of blue-green algae, then the amount of oxygen in the reservoir decreases, silts form, and hydrogen sulfide appears. All this will create unfavorable conditions for the life of fish, waterfowl, etc.

The evolution of lakes occurs in different ways in wet and dry climates: in the first case, they gradually turn into swamps, in the second, into salt marshes.

In a humid (humid) climate, the leading role in filling the lake and turning it into a swamp belongs to vegetation, partly to the remains of the animal population, which together form organic remains. Temporary streams and rivers bring mineral deposits. Small lakes with gently sloping shores are overgrown by pushing vegetative ecological zones from the periphery to the center. Eventually the lake becomes a grassy fens.

Deep lakes with steep banks overgrow in a different way: by growing from above alloys(quick) - a layer of living and dead plants. It is based on plants with long rhizomes (cinquefoil, watch, calla), and other herbaceous plants and even shrubs (alder, willow) settle on a grid of rhizomes. The raft first appears near the coast, protected from the wind, where there is no excitement, and gradually moves towards the lake, increasing in power. Part of the plants dies, falls to the bottom, forming peat. Gradually, only “windows” of water remain in the quagmire, and then they disappear, although the basin is not yet filled with sediments, and only with time does the raft merge with a layer of peat.

In dry climates, lakes eventually become salt marshes. This is facilitated by an insignificant amount of precipitation, intense evaporation, a decrease in the inflow of river waters, and the deposition of solid sediments brought by rivers and dust storms. As a result, the water mass of the lake decreases, the level decreases, the area decreases, the salt concentration increases, and even a fresh lake can first turn into a salt lake (Big Salt Lake in North America), and then to the salt marsh.

Lakes, especially large ones, have a softening effect on the climate of the surrounding areas: it is warmer in winter and cooler in summer. So, at coastal weather stations near Lake Baikal, the temperature in winter is 8-10 °C higher, and in summer by 6-8 °C lower than at stations outside the influence of the lake. The air humidity near the lake is higher due to increased evaporation.