Which is the correct sequence of lakes according to depth (from maximum to minimum) ?

The correct answer is Baikal > Tanganyika > Caspian Sea > Vostok. 

Key Points

• Lake Baikal:
  • It is located in Siberia, Russia, Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing about 23% of the world's fresh surface water.
  • It is also considered the deepest lake in the world, with a max depth of about 5,387 feet.
  • It is known for its remarkable clarity and biodiversity, with more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two-thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world.
• Lake Tanganyika:
  • This is the second oldest freshwater lake in the world, second largest by volume, and the second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal.
  • It is located in East Africa, bordered by four countries - Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Zambia.
  • The lake is highly biodiverse, with an estimated 1,500-2,000 species, approximately 600 of which are endemic.
• Caspian Sea:
  • Despite its name, the Caspian Sea is often considered the world's largest lake; it's over three times the size of the next largest lake, Lake Superior.
  • It is located between Europe and Asia with five surrounding countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan.
  • Being isolated from the ocean, the Caspian Sea has a unique ecosystem with diverse flora and fauna, including the famous Beluga sturgeon, which is known for producing the world's finest caviar.
• Lake Vostok:
  • This is the largest of Antarctica's almost 400 known subglacial lakes. It is located beneath Russia's Vostok Station, under more than 4 kilometers of ice.
  • The lake has been cut off from the rest of the world for somewhere between 15 and 25 million years, leading to speculation that its depths may contain unique microbial life forms that have evolved in isolation.
  • Drilling projects have been undertaken to study the unexplored lake, but with significant concern to prevent contamination.