Lake Baikal (5,315 feet [1,620 meters])Lake Baikal, in Siberia, holds the distinction of being both the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake, holding more than 20% of the unfrozen fresh water on the surface of Earth.
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Russian explorers using two mini-submarines reached the bottom of Siberia's vast Lake Baikal - one of the last relatively unexplored frontiers on Earth. The team announced they had sunk to a record depth of 1,680 metres (5,512 ft).
Lake Baikal is so deep because it is located in an active continental rift zone. The rift zone is widening at a rate of about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) per year. As the rift grows wider, it also grows deeper through subsidence. So, Lake Baikal could grow wider and deeper in the future.
Not only is Lake Baikal safe to swim in, but it also boasts some of the purest water in the world. The only drawback is the temperature - even during the warmer months, a dip in the lake is pretty invigorating.
Unique WildlifeAmong these interesting creatures are the Baikal omul fish, Baikal oil fish and most notably, the Baikal seal or nerpa as they are called in Russian. This is one of the only seal species to live entirely in fresh water.
At 1,943 feet (592 meters), Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world. The depths were first explored thoroughly in 1886 by a party from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The largest species is the Siberian sturgeon, which sometimes measures more than 6 1/2 feet (2 meters) long. The only mammal is the Baikal seal. The first hydrothermal vents, or hot-water springs, ever discovered in a freshwater lake were found at the bottom of Lake Baikal in 1990.
The ancestors of cottoid fish emerged in the Far-Eastern seas of Russia. During the Miocene, about 20 million years ago, they began to invade rivers, adapting to life in fresh water. Moving down the rivers, they ended up in Lake Baikal, first in its shallow waters, then in deep waters and the water column.