Crater Lake, deepest in the US, formed 7,700 yrs ago by Mount Mazama's collapse. Klamath Indian oral traditions recount its creation.
Named after the Slavey people, Great Slave Lake is North America's deepest and Canada's second largest. Its icy surface hosts an ice road connecting Yellowknife to Dettah in winter.
Nestled at 5,270 ft in Kyrgyzstan's Tien Shan, Lake Ysyk is among the largest alpine lakes globally. Its name means "Hot Lake" for its year-round warmth, defying subzero winters due to its salinity and geothermal activity.
Lake Nyasa, also called Lake Malawi, spans 350+ miles across Mozambique, Tanzania, and Malawi. Its diverse environments harbor 1,000+ fish species, notably cichlids.
Nestled in the Patagonian Andes, O Higgins/San Martín Lake straddles the Argentina-Chile border. Fed by O Higgins Glacier, it boasts a striking turquoise hue from glacial rock flour.
Lake Vostok, buried under 2.5 miles of ice in Antarctica, is the largest known subglacial lake. Discovered in 1996, it harbors new forms of bacterial life, unveiled by a 2012 drilling expedition.
The Caspian Sea, Earth's largest enclosed body of water, spans 750 miles north to south. It supports fishing, tourism, and oil extraction.
Lake Tanganyika: 2nd largest freshwater lake, 2nd deepest globally. Shared by Zambia, Burundi, Tanzania, & Congo. Overfishing an issue since 1950s.
Lake Baikal: world's deepest and largest freshwater lake, holding 20% of Earth's unfrozen water. Home to unique species like the Baikal seal. 3.5