Five Ancient Lakes at Least a Million Years Old

Lake Maracaibo

This Venezuelan lake is believed to be more than 20 million years old and is the largest lake in South America. It is fed by several rivers, the largest of which is the Catatumbo. Coming in at more than 13,000 square kilometers, some also consider it a bay.

Lake Pingualuk

Sitting in the Canadian province of Quebec, Pingualuk is relatively young when compared to other crater lakes. But the lake is still quite ancient – about 1.4 million years old. It is one of the deepest lakes in North America and has ultra-pure water because it has no inlets or outlets – water accumulates solely from rain. Measurements taken by Secchi disks mark visibility at more than 35 meters deep.

Great Prespa Lake

It spans the borders of Albania, Greece and Macedonia and sits very near to Lake Ohrid. Great Prespa Lake is also one of the highest tectonic lakes in the Balkans. A smaller lake nearby shares the Prespa name. Great Prespa is said to be a little more than 3 million years old.

Lake Ohrid

With more than one million years under its belt, Lake Ohrid is Europe’s oldest. Most of the species living in its waters are native to it. Among other endemic species, there are twenty species of algae, two plant species, five species of zooplankton and ten species of fish. Its bottom fauna are the most diverse, making up 176 of the species native to the lake.

Tule Lake

Fed by the Lost River, Tule Lake is an intermittent lake in California. This means it disappears seasonally. At its max, its waters cover an area of 13,000 acres. It is the central feature of the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

ancient lakes