Lakes can be absolutely mesmerizing and are found across the planet, and in this post, we’ll take a closer look at the top 7 most famous lakes in the world.
Moraine Lake
Moraine Lake is one of the most astonishing lakes in Canada for multiple reasons. It’s located in the Alberta Rockies, a mountain range situated in the Canadian Rockies, which is an extension of the Rocky Mountains, the largest mountain range in North America. The lake is also part of the Banff National Park, the oldest national park in Canada which was established in 1885.
It’s one of the most famous lakes in the world because it is situated in the “Valley of the Ten Peaks.” These ten mountains provide an amazing background for the lake which has resulted in this view becoming one of the most photographed places in Canada. The water of the lake also has a distinctive blue-green color which is the result of the rock flour that is deposited into it by the glaciers surrounding it.
Lake Hillier
Lake Hillier is one of the most fascinating lakes on the planet, mainly because of its bubblegum pink color. It’s located just off the south coast of Western Australia on Middle Island, a relatively small island that is part of the Recherche Archipelago in the Goldfields-Esperance region.
Only a few dunes covered in dense vegetation separate the lake from the ocean, which also means that this is a salt lake with an extremely high concentration of salt. Red algae cause the pink color of the water and this organism is referred to as Dunaliella salina. Regardless of its color, the water is safe for humans. The best way to explore this magnificent lake is by air as this allows you to get clear views of the remarkable pink color of this fascinating lake!
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the 5 great lakes in North America. Apart from that, it’s also the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area as it covers 31,700 square miles (82,000 square kilometers). It’s allocated the farthest north and west of the 5 great lakes and is shared by the Canadian province of Ontario and the US states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Even though it’s the largest lake by surface area in the world, it’s only the third-largest lake by volume with a total volume of 2,900 cubic miles (12,000 cubic kilometers). The name for Lake Superior given by the Ojibwe people who used to live along its shores was “gichi-gami” which translates to “great sea.”
Lake Minnewanka
Lake Minnewanka is another lake located in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta. It’s one of the attractions of the Banff National Park and just emphasizes the fact that this is one of the most amazing natural landscapes on the planet. The glacial lake is the longest in the area and that’s not because of natural reasons.
A dam is located in the western part of the lake which means that it also serves as a reservoir for the two power generators located near the town of Banff. The dam was completed in 1941 and has elevated the water level by 30 meters (98 feet). Because of this, the lake encircles the nearby mountains.
Crater Lake
Crater Lake is part of the Crater Lake National Park which was established in the year 1902. It’s arguably one of the most beautiful lakes in the world because of its unique location inside the remnant of a destroyed volcano named Mount Mazama. The lake is located in the US state of Oregon in the northwest of the country. Apart from the amazing scenery that it’s located in, the lake is also known to be the deepest lake in the United States with a maximum depth of 1,949 feet (594 meters). This makes it the 2nd-deepest lake in North America and the 9th deepest lake in the world as well.
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is located in Siberia, Russia, and is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world. It has a surface area of 12,248 square miles (31,722 square kilometers) and a total volume of 5,670 cubic miles (23,615.39 cubic kilometers). This massive lake contains over 22% of all the fresh surface water in the world and has a larger volume than all the 5 great lakes of North America combined, even though it’s only the 7th largest lake by surface area. It’s also considered to be the cleanest and oldest lake in the world, dating back to up to 30 million years ago.
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the second-largest freshwater lake by surface area in the world. It has a surface area of 23,146 square miles (59,947 square kilometers). In terms of volume, it’s only the 9th-largest lake in the world. The lake was named after Queen Victoria by British explorer John Hanning Speke, the first Briton to document it while he was sent out to discover the source of the Nile River, an expedition which was sponsored by the Royal Geographic Society. The name stuck and was used by the locals to explain it to him.
