lake-baikal

The largest lake on Earth is called a sea. The Caspian Sea covers about 371,000 to 374,000 square kilometres — larger than Germany — and is bordered by five countries that argued for over two decades about whether it's legally a lake or a sea, because the answer decides who owns its oil. Behind it stretch the true freshwater giants, including a single North American lake big enough to cover the entire United Kingdom.

Lake Baikal in Siberia plunges to 1,642 metres — deep enough to swallow the world's tallest building twice over with room to spare. It is not just the deepest lake on Earth; it holds about a fifth of all the planet's unfrozen fresh water and has existed for 25 million years, longer than any other lake. The deepest lakes share a common origin: they sit in places where the Earth's crust is literally being pulled apart.