Lakes

Most Russian lakes were formed by glaciation. The largest such lakes in European Russia are Ladoga (6,835 sq mi / 17,703 sq km)rift gold and Onega (3,701 sq mi / 9,609 sq km), northeast of St. Petersburg. They are also the two largest lakes in all of Europe (as the Caspian is generally not counted). Other large lakes in western Russia include Lake Peipus on the Estonian border and the reservoirs of the Volga River.

Lake Baikal in southern Siberia is the largest lake in Russia and in Asia (again excluding the Caspian, as well as the so-called Aral Sea). It is 392 mi (632 km) long and 32 mi (59 km) wide, with a surface area of 11,870 sq mi (30,510 sq km). It has a maximum depth of 5,715 ft (1,742 meters), making it the deepest body of freshwater on Earth. Due to its great depth,rift gold Lake Baikal also has the greatest volume of any freshwater lake. It is said to contain one-fifth of the Earth’s fresh surface water. Other large Siberian lakes include Lakes Taymyr, Chany, Khanka and the Novosibirsk, Bratsk, and Zeya Reservoirs. There are countless smaller lakes.