The Five Largest Lakes in the World

A lake is a very large waterbody of fresh water or salt water,contained in a depression of the earth's surface, formed by glaciers, river drainage, etc., and surrounded by land on all sides. Most of the world's largest lakes are fresh-water. Natural lakes can form by various processes, such as Tectonic activity, Glacial activity, Volcanic activity, and erosion and deposition of rivers. Most of the world's largest lakes have formed as a result of tectonic movements of the Earth's crust. Here is five largest lakes in the world:

The Caspian Sea,is the largest lake in the world. The Caspian Sea is located at the southern areas of the Russian Federation and northern Iran. The coastlines of the Caspian are shared by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. The sea has numerous tributaries, notably the Volga, Ural, and Zhem rivers (flowing from the north), the Gorgan rivers and Atrek rivers (flowing from the east), and the Kura River (flowing from the west). This lake have formed as a result of tectonic activity. The Caspian sea level is lower than ocean's level. It has a salinity of approximately 1.2%. The salinity of Caspian Sea changes from the north to the south within a range of 1,0 to 13,5 parts per thousand. At the bottom of the Caspian Sea there are also deposits of oil and gas. Thats why, The Caspian Sea region has become a central focal point for untapped oil and natural gas resources from the southern portion of the former Soviet Union.

Lake Baikal is the 2'nd largest lake in the world. Baikal is situated in the central part of Eastern Siberia. This lake is also the deepest lake in the world. Lake Baikal was formed by tectonic activity. The lake is completely surrounded by mountains. Clear fresh water of Lake Baikal is characterized as the best in the world. Its water can be sometimes used as distilled water. Average mineralization of Baikal water is 120 mg per liter. This uncommon water cleanness is provided by its unique vegetative and animal world. The lake is also downstream from rich mineral deposits. Lake Baikal is one of the world's largest lead and zinc fields. But, mining were already causing damage. Thats why, the Russian Natural Resources Ministry proposed a ban on mining of the zinc deposit.

Lake Tanganyika is a large lake in central Africa. This lake is the 3'rd largest lake and also the 2'nd deepest lake in the world. Almost 1/6 of the world's freshwater is contained in Lake Tanganyika. The lake is divided between four countries - Burundi (on the northeast), Democratic Republic of the Congo (on the west), Tanzania (on the east) and Zambia (on the south). Lake Tanganyika was formed by tectonic activity. Scientists estimate Lake Tanganyika's age between 9 to 12 million years. Lake Tanganyika is thus an important biological resource for the study of speciation in evolution. Lake Tanganyika harbours over 2000 different species, such as jellyfish, fish and molluscs.

Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. This lake is also the fourth largest lake in the world. It is bounded by Canada and United states of America (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan). Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. Because, The Caspian Sea, while larger than Lake Superior in both surface area and volume, is saline. Lake Superior is one of the earth's youngest major features, at only about 10,000 years of age. This lake was formed by tectonic activity. The average elevation of Lake Superior is about 602 feet above sea level. Toxic pollution in Lake Superior is low compared to the other Great Lakes.

Lake Malawi is the most southerly lake in the East African Rift valley system. The lake is bordered by western Mozambique, eastern Malawi, and southern Tanzania. This lake was formed by tectonic activity. It is renowned for its biodiversity, especially its unique ecosystem including hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates found nowhere else on Earth. The most famous of which are the chambo, consisting of any one of four species of the cichlid genus Nyasalapia, as well as the kampango, a large catfish (Bagrus meridionalis). Lake Malawi also have potential heavy mineral sand, bauxite, phosphate, uranium and rare earth element deposits.