Repost This Article
Everyone loves lakes. / Photo: magical-world
Lakes have a lot to offer: You get all the benefits of a refreshing body of water without having to worry about tides, currents, rapids, great whites, or that scummy coating of salt.
That must have been what the folks at the Brilliant Tips blog were thinking, anyway, when they published a snapshot of 10 Unique and Fascinating Lakes Around the World.
And Trips agrees. It’s time to bigup the world’s lakes, and here are some picks from the Brilliant Tips piece to get us started:
Photo: gramz
Volcanic views
Two from the list fall into this category.
First we have Guatemala’s Lago de Atitlán, with a trio of volcanoes flanking its southern shore. A series of Mayan villages also ring the water.
And then there’s Taal Lake, on the Philippine’s main island of Luzon. An active volcano rises up from an island in the middle of the lake, and within the volcano’s crater is yet another lake, which Wikipedia describes as “the world’s largest lake on an island in a lake on an island.”
Ya follow?
Most flamingos
Tourists aren’t the only ones who can appreciate lakes. There may be as many as one million flamingos in Kenya’s Lake Nakuru at any given time, attracted by the water’s abundant algae.
Photo: caffeinated Kit
The otherworldly
Spotted Lake, in Klikuk, British Columbia, gets its double-take texture from the soup of minerals found in its water and the peculiarities of local evaporation processes.
It’s visible from a pull-off on Highway 3, just a 10-minute drive north of the Washington border — truly an alien landscape.
World’s deepest
That would be Baikal, reaching depths of 1,642 meters (5,400 feet). It’s also the world’s oldest.
The crescent blade of a lake is located in southeastern Russia and is a good choice for breaking up your Trans-Siberian rail journey.
Most floaty
The Dead Sea, on the borders of Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank, is actually a giant salt lake. It also marks the point of lowest elevation on Earth’s surface (422 meters/1,385 feet below sea level).
And people like to float in it.
Photo: auntjojo
Others?
Lake Titicaca would be an obvious addition to the list.
It’s giant, super high (one of the highest navigable in the world), and home to a collection of artificial islands made from reeds that people live on.
Oregon’s Crater Lake is another standout, with its great depth and remarkably clear waters.
Or how about North America’s largest alpine lake, Lake Tahoe? Try out Lake Tahoe Vacation Rentals if you’re planning a visit.
Any more? What’s the most memorable lake you’ve visited, and what makes it unique? Let us know in the comments.
Hal Amen
Hal Amen is managing editor at Matador. His personal travel blog is WayWorded.
Connect with Facebook
Pangong Tso in Ladakh is the most beautiful I’ve seen – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangong_Tso
It’s long, you can’t see the end of it – 134 km (83 mi)
Two thirds lie in China and one third in India.
It’s really high up – 4,350 m (14,300 ft)
And the nearest town is 40 kms away!
love the lakes…
Great list. I love Lake Geneva in Switzerland, especially viewed from Montreux. Lake Bled in Slovenia is like a fairy-tale too.
As a Michigander, I loved this article because lakes need respect and I have to say – Great Lakes for sure! Where else can you walk right up to an old wooden shipwreck but on the shores of Lake Superior? I always say that Lake Superior is the Pacific Ocean of the lakes: Dark, mysterious, rocky, bold, and cold.
West Coast: Mono Lake isn’t too shabby either.
I’ve been a lake lover for many years!!! of course living in Oregon its hard not to be when your surrounded with the gorgeous string of cascade lakes. Though, as usual, there are an unfortunate number of people who are ignorant of these lakes around them. We have had a lot of people move up from south cali in the past years and of course what happens is the newbies pick the grossest (man-made) lake around and act like it is all we have!! If I here another person talk about “the lake” as though its the only one, I just may be forced to slap them.