Lake Baikal in southern Siberia is the deepest lake on Earth - a narrow rift valley flanked by steep mountains, plunging past 1,600 m in its central basin. Toggle the depth bands to see the three basins that make up the lake, or switch on the winter ice cover the lake is famous for.
Published figures: maximum depth about 1,642 m in the central basin (the deepest lake on Earth); average depth about 744 m; length about 636 km along the rift; holds about 23,615 cu km of water, roughly 23% of the world's unfrozen fresh surface water.
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Lake Baikal 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows Lake Baikal as a narrow rift valley cut deep into southern Siberia, flanked by steep mountains on both sides. The lake is split into three connected basins along its length - toggle the depth bands to see the shallower north basin next to the far deeper central and south basins that make Baikal the deepest lake on Earth.
Baikal reaches about 1,642 m at its deepest point in the central basin, more than twice the depth of any other lake. It stretches about 636 km end to end but is narrow, averaging around 48 km wide, and holds roughly 23,615 cu km of water - close to a quarter of all the unfrozen fresh surface water on the planet. Formed by an active continental rift that is still widening, geologists estimate the lake is 25 to 30 million years old, making it the oldest lake on Earth as well as the deepest.
- Toggle the depth bands to compare the shallower north basin with the deeper central and south basins
- Toggle the winter ice cover to see the lake as it freezes over most years from January into spring
- Read depth, length, volume, and age figures in the panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Maximum depth | about 1,642 m in the central basin - the deepest lake on Earth |
| Average depth | about 744 m |
| Length | about 636 km along the rift |
| Average width | about 48 km (up to about 79 km at the widest) |
| Water volume | about 23,615 cu km - roughly 23% of world unfrozen fresh surface water |
| Age | about 25-30 million years - the oldest lake on Earth |
| Ice season | typically freezes over from January into May or June most years |
| Location | southern Siberia, Russia, in an active continental rift valley |
For another lake-scale basin with a dramatic depth contrast between sections, open the Caspian Sea 3D Explorer, or compare a very different kind of vertical extreme in the Mount Everest 3D Explorer.
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached.
This is an educational approximation - the basin profile, surrounding terrain, and vertical scale are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How deep is Lake Baikal?
Baikal reaches about 1,642 m at its deepest point in the central basin - the deepest lake on Earth, more than twice as deep as the next-deepest lake. Average depth across the whole lake is about 744 m.
Why does Lake Baikal have three basins?
The lake sits in an active continental rift valley that is still slowly widening, and separate down-faulted sections formed a shallower north basin next to deeper central and south basins along the same rift.
Is Lake Baikal really the oldest lake in the world?
Geologists estimate Baikal is 25 to 30 million years old, based on its rift-formation history - most lakes are geologically young by comparison, often existing for only thousands of years.
Does Lake Baikal freeze in winter?
Yes - it typically freezes over from January into May or June most years, and is well known for exceptionally clear, transparent ice several tens of centimetres thick in places.
How much of the world's fresh water is in Lake Baikal?
Baikal holds about 23,615 cu km of water, which is roughly 23% of the world's unfrozen fresh surface water - more than all five of North America's Great Lakes combined.
Is this a scientific terrain model?
No. It is an educational explorer using published figures - the basin profile, surrounding mountains, and vertical scale are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.