Lakes are vital to our existence because apart from hosting life forms that can serve as food, they act as catchment basins. Lakes can also supply water for drinking, irrigation, and electricity and serve as tourist attractions and recreations areas.
Did you know that Lake Baikal in Russia continues to widen by about 2 centimeters every year? This is because Lake Baikal was formed by a tectonic rift in the Earth’s crust and it continues to move, despite forming 20 to 25 million years ago.
So, how did lakes form? Apparently, many processes contributed to it like glacial erosion, tectonic plate movements, volcanic eruption, river and wind currents, meteorite activity, and damming of rivers which incidentally can either be natural or artificial.
Some lakes are naturally salty while some become salty over time. A few of the world’s lakes used to be seas that became enclosed due to tectonic shifts while some lakes (especially in the arid regions) reach high salt concentrations due to inflowing waters and quick water evaporation.
Did you know that Lake Baikal in Russia holds a few geological records? Apart from being the lake with the most volume, it is also the world’s deepest and oldest lake. It is about 3,400 feet deep and is estimated to have formed 20 to 25 million years ago.
Did you know that the volume of water in the Great Lakes comes in second to Russia's Lake Baikal (the deepest lake in the world)? The Great Lakes’ five interconnected waters make up 21% of the volume of the world’s fresh surface water while Lake Baikal accounts for 22-23%.
