10 interesting facts about lakes
- The Great Lakes shoreline is equal to almost 44 percent of the circumference of the Earth, and Michigan’s Great Lakes coast totals 3,288 mi/5,294 km, more coastline than any state but Alaska.
- Only one world other than Earth is known to harbor lakes, Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Photographs and spectroscopic analysis by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft show liquid ethane on the surface, which is thought to be mixed with liquid methane.
- There are 41 million acres of lakes and reservoirs in the U.S.There are at least 3 million lakes in Canada.
- The longest lake is Lake Tanganyika, with a length of about 660 km (measured along the lake's center line).
- The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers (143,244 sq mi) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers (18,761 cu mi).
- The world's highest lake is the crater lake of Ojos del Salado, at 6,390 metres (20,965 ft). The Lhagba Pool in Tibet at 6,368 m (20,892 ft) comes second.
- The deepest lake in the world is Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. It is a natural lake that is 5,712 feet (1,741 meters) deep. That’s more than one mile straight down!
- Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,812 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world.
- The dead Sea,Israel is the lowest point on Earth(320 meters under the sea level) and the saltest lake on the Earth.
- The world's oldest lake is Lake Baikal, followed by Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania).
