Lake is a basin on Earth surface with large dimension. It can be filled with fresh and saline water. There are various types of lakes, such as tectonic, volcanic, and floodplain lakes. There are 10 characteristics of tectonic lake. It’s a kind of water resource with beautiful landscape. Asia, the largest continent in the world, has many lakes with different shapes and sizes. Here are the 8 largest lakes in Asia.
- Lake Qinghai (4.186 km2)
Lake Qinghai is the eight largest lake in Asia. It’s located in Tibet highland, Qinghai Province, China, around 3.205 meter above sea level. The lake has an area of 4.186 km2 which had shrank in early 20th century, but got larger again in 2004. Lake Qinghai has quite high salinity rate. However, Lake Qinghai ecosystem becomes a new place for various kinds of fish species.
- Lake Khanka (190 km²)
Lake Khanka is the seventh largest lake in Asia with an area of 4.190 km2. The lake is located between Russia and China. Lake Khanka has an average depth of 4,5 meter and maximum depth of 10,6 meter, with 90 km long and only 45 km wide. Around 18,3 km3 of water volume can be filled into the lake. Lake Khanka becomes the main water source for Songacha River. The water lake becomes frozen in the winter season between December and March. Besides the large lakes list, there are also some deepest lakes in South East Asia.
- Lake Taymyr (4.560 km2)
Lake Taymyr is the sixth largest lake in Asia with an area of 4.560 km2. The lake is located in Russia. Lake Taymyr has an average depth of 2,8 meter and maximum depth of 26 meter, with 204 km for maximum length and 154 km for maximum width. Around 12,8 km3 of water volume can be filled into the lake. The lake has several rivers as its water source, there are Zapadnaya River, Severnaya River, Bikada Nguoma River, Yamutarida River, and Kalamissamo River.
- Lake Urmia (5.200 km2)
Lake Urmia belongs to the 8 largest lakes in Asia. Lake Urmia is the fifth largest lake in Asia. The saline lake has an area of 5.200 km2. It’s located in Iran. Lake Urmia only has maximum depth of 16 meter, with 140 km for maximum length and 55 km for maximum width. There are 102 small islands in the lake, on of them is Shahi Island. Many rivers act as water source for Lake Urmia, such as Alamlao River, Aji River, Ghaie River, Gadar River, Leylan River, Nazlou River, Mahabad River, Rozeh River, Zola River and Simineh River.
- Lake Issyk Kul (332 km²)
Lake Issyk Kul is the fourth largest lake in Asia. The volcanic lake has an area of 6.332 km2. It’s located in Kyrgyzstan. Vietnam also has some popular lakes though. Lake Issyk Kul has an average depth of 278,4 meter and maximum depth of 668 meter, with 178 km long and 60,1 km wide. Around 1.738 km3 of water volume can be filled into the lake. Glaciers River becomes the main water source for the lake, meanwhile Lake Issyk Kul also acts as the source for Evaporation River.
- Lake Balkash (16.400 km2)
Lake Balkash is the third largest lake in Asia and the fifteenth largest lake in the world. This lake, which located in Kazakhstan, has an area of 16.400 km2 and maximum depth of 26 meter, with 605 km long and 74 km wide. Geographically, Lake Balkash is located in two countries; Kazakhstan (85%) and China (15%). It consists of two kinds of water, the saltwater in the east and freshwater in the west. The water is coming from Ili River, Karatal River, Aksu River, Lepsy River, Byan River, Kapal River and Koksu River. The mentioned rivers are commonly used for farming.
- Lake Baikal (31.494 km2)
Lake Baikal is the second largest lake in Asia. This lake is even considered as the oldest and deepest lake in the world. Hence Lake Baikal is commonly visited by tourists as the popular world heritage. The lake, which is located in Russia, has an area of 31.494 km2 and maximum depth of 1637 meter, with 636 km long and 80 km wide. Around 20% of the world freshwater volume is in this lake. Lake Baikal even contains 90% of Russia’s freshwater capacity. It can accommodate 23.600 km3 of water volume. The lake got its name from the word of ‘Tatar Baikul’, which means a rich lake. Baikal Lake is also named ‘the great blue eye of Siberia’. Not only Asia, Africa also has some large lakes.
- Caspian Sea (371.000 km2)
Caspian Sea is the largest lake in Asia, even in the entire world. There are 10 largest lakes in the world. Despite its ‘sea’ title, Caspian Sea it’s actually a saltwater lake. It’s called sea because Caspian Lake has saltwater and large size, about 371.000 km2. The lake is also surrounded by sand, just like a beach. Caspian Sea is located between two continents, Asia and Europe, and five countries; Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. The northern part of Caspian Sea is called depression since it’s one of the lowest points on Earth. The lake has the maximum depth of 1.025 meter and an average depth of 211 meter, with 1.030 km for maximum length and 435 km for maximum width. Around 78.200 km3 of water volume can be filled into the lake, such an extremely large lake. Caspian Sea is a rich oil and natural gas resources. The surrounding countries get significant advantages because of it.
So, there are the 8 largest lakes in Asia.