A body of water into which it does not flow. Red Sea: where is it on the map, photo, area, depth, rivers, fish, countries, cities

Lakes occupy about 1.8% of the world, mostly small quiet bodies of water with gentle sandy shores. But there are real giant lakes with a length of several hundred kilometers, an area larger than some seas, on the surface of which real storms rage with waves of many meters. Meet the ten largest lakes in the world.

10. Great Slave Lake

The Big Slave Lake has an area of ​​28.930 km², it is the remains of a reservoir formed after the melting of glaciers formed during the Ice Age. This is the deepest lake North America, located on the territory of Canada, with a depth of 614 meters, which is bordered on one side by the tundra, and on the other by the Canadian boundary shield. The name of the lake was given in honor of an Indian tribe living on the shore, the name of which was very consonant with the English word "slave", which translates as "slave".

9. Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi, also known as Nyasa, covers an area of ​​30,044 km2 and contains 7% of the world's fresh water. The reservoir is a depression on the border of Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi, 706 meters deep, into which 14 rivers flow. On the steep shores of the lake, storms very often rage, during which navigation almost completely stops.

8. Big Bear Lake

The most big lake Canada, Big Bear Lake has an area of ​​31.153 km². The reservoir is located beyond the Arctic Circle at an altitude of 186 meters above sea level and has a depth of 413 meters. It was from the uranium mined on the shores of Big Bear Lake that the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were made.

7. Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal, with an area of ​​31,722 km², is the largest freshwater reservoir in the world, containing 19% of the world's fresh water reserves. The reservoir 1.637 meters deep was formed at the site of a tectonic fault, and is surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains. By the way, this is the most deep lake in the world, where more than 300 rivers flow and only one river Angara flows out. Most importantly, Baikal and its shores are home to a large number of animals and plants that are not found anywhere else in the world.

6. Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika with an area of ​​32.893 km 2 located on the border of Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi was formed on the site of a tectonic fault on the border of the African and Arabian tectonic plates. It is the second deepest (its depth is 1.470 meters) closed water body in the world and the second largest lake in the world by volume of fresh water. It also bears the title of the longest lake in the world, from north to south it has a length of 673 kilometers. The shores of Tanganyika are high cliffs and only on the eastern side there are gentle slopes. Due to the fact that the lake was formed many millions of years ago with a closed ecosystem, there are many unique fish species that you will not find anywhere else in the world.

5. Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan, with an area of ​​58,000 km 2, is the only one of the five Great Lakes that is entirely located in the United States. It is located at an altitude of 177 meters above sea level, its depth is 281 meters. Michigan is located high in northern latitudes and about four months of the year its waters are frozen by ice.

4. Lake Huron

Lake Huron, on the border between the United States and Canada, has an area of ​​59.600 km 2, is 229 meters deep and is 176 meters above sea level. The most interesting thing is that Huron has just a huge number of islands, more than 30 thousand, among which Manitoulin Island stands alone, the largest freshwater island in the world, which, in turn, has the largest inland lake in the world - Manitou, with an area of ​​106 km 2.

3. Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria, with an area of ​​69.485 km 2, is the largest African and tropical lake in the world. The reservoir was formed in a depression on the East African Platform on the border of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda at an altitude of 1134 meters above sea level. The lake with a large number of bays, bays and islands, surrounded by low swampy shores, only in the southwestern part, the water abuts against sharply rising rocks. Victoria has a depth of 84 meters, the main source of water replenishment is tropical rain. By the way, the longest river in the world, the Nile, originates from here.

2. Lake Superior

The second largest lake in the world and the largest lake in North America - Superior, has an area of ​​82.414 km 2. The reservoir was formed in the basin as a result of the movement of tectonic plates and soil erosion, which was filled with water from melted glaciers. Above the lake, 406 meters deep, not protected by mountains, strong winds are constantly blowing, which is why strong seiches (standing waves) are often formed on its surface, severely destroying the shores.

1. Caspian Sea

The largest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea, yes it is the lake, despite the fact that it is most often called the sea, has an area of ​​371,000 km 2. The banks of this reservoir are gentle and swampy, only in the northern part they are strongly indented, in the area of ​​the delta of the Volga and Ural rivers. The Caspian Sea, which is located on the border of Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, has a depth of 1,025 meters. The most interesting thing is that this lake appeared as a result of tectonic shifts, which led to the emergence of a closed reservoir separated from the world's oceans.

There are very special rivers that don't flow anywhere. There are some that change the direction of the current several times during the day.

Among the snows and ice of the Pamir-Altai, the Zeravshan River originates. Having escaped from the mountains, it spreads along hundreds of canals and thousands of ditches of the Bukhara and Karakul oases. Like many other rivers in the desert regions, it has no delta or mouth. In other words, Zeravshan does not flow anywhere.

Everyone knows that the water in rivers and lakes is fresh. But there are rivers with salty and sweet water.

In the north, there is a river with very high salinity. They call her that - Solyanka. Where did salt come from in the river? Many millions of years ago, there was a huge sea on the site of modern Yakutia. Then the earth's crust rose and fell, in some places closed lagoons formed, in which, as a result of increased evaporation, thick layers of salt settled, subsequently covered with limestone. Groundwater seeps through these sediments and, saturated with salt, enters the river.

On Victoria Land in Antarctica, scientists have discovered a lake, the water in which is 11 times saltier than the sea and can freeze only at a temperature of -50 °.

There is a lake called Sladkoe in the Urals, in the Chelyabinsk region. Local residents wash their clothes only in it. Even oil stains can be washed in water without soap. It was found that the water in the lake is alkaline. It contains soda and sodium chloride. The presence of these substances gave the water special qualities.

There are "vinegar" rivers and lakes on the globe. The "vinegar" river flows in Columbia (South America). This is El Rio Vinegre (one of the tributaries of the Cauca River), flowing in the area of ​​the active Purase volcano. The water of this river contains 1.1% sulfuric and 0.9% hydrochloric acid, so no fish can live in it.

There is a Lake of Death on the island of Sicily. From its bottom, two sources of acid of high concentration are beating. This is the most "dead" lake on our planet.

There are rivers that have one common source, but they flow in different directions and often flow into different basins. This natural phenomenon is called river bifurcation. Orinoco river flowing in South America, in the upper reaches it is divided into two. One of them retains the former name Orinoco, flows into Atlantic Ocean and the other, the Casiquiare, flows into the Rio Negra, the left tributary of the Amazon.

Antarctica has amazing lakes. One of them - Wanda - is covered with a thick layer of ice all year round. At the very bottom, at a depth of 60 meters, a layer of salt water with a temperature of + 25 ° was found! The mystery is all the more curious because there are believed to be no hot springs or other sources of heat in the depths of the Earth.

Usually rivers flow into lakes or seas. But there is a river that flows ... from the bay inland. This is the Tajura River on the northeastern coast of Africa. It flows from the bay of the same name into the interior of the mainland and flows into Lake Assal.

There is an amazing river in Europe: it flows for six hours to the sea and six hours back. Its direction changes four times a day. This is the Avar (Aviar) river in Greece. Scientists explain the "whims" of the river level fluctuations Aegean as a result of the ebb and flow.

"Ink" lake! It is located in Algeria, near settlement Sidi Bel Abbes. You can write on paper with water from this lake. Two small rivers flow into the natural "inkwell". The waters of one of them are rich in iron salts, and the waters of the other are rich in humic substances. They also form a liquid like ink.

Where does the Kuban River flow? “Of course, to the Sea of ​​Azov,” you say. True, but it turns out that it was not always so. Even 200 years ago, this river flowed into the Black Sea. It would flow there even now, if in 1819 the Cossacks from Staro-Titarovskaya and Temryukovskaya villages did not decide to desalinate the salty Azov estuaries. The Cossacks dug a canal between the Kuban and the Akhtanizovsky estuary. But the new channel "liked" the wayward river more than the previous one, and it rushed along it, washed out and expanded the banks, demolished everything that it met on its way, and carried its waters to the Sea of ​​Azov. And the old channel, laid for the river by nature itself, is overgrown.

The Diala River, which flows through Iraqi territory, was sentenced to death penalty... She was judged by none other than the great Persian king Cyrus. Crossing the Diala, the king lost his "sacred" white horse, which drowned. The enraged Cyrus ordered to dig 360 canals in order to divert water from the river. It ceased to exist for a thousand years. Over time, the sands of the desert dried up and brought the canals, and the river returned to its former course.

There are many amazing lakes, but there is no one like Mogilnoye anywhere. It is located on the small island of Kildin off the Murmansk coast, slightly east of the entrance to the Kola Bay. The shores of the bay are rocky and steep, but in the southeastern part they go down and form a beautiful bay. A lake adjoins it, separated from the sea by a high sandy-pebble rampart. The lake area is slightly more than one square kilometer, the maximum depth is 17 meters. But, despite these modest sizes, the layers of water in it never mix. The lake is clearly divided vertically into five "floors". At the very bottom, the water is saturated with hydrogen sulfide. Above it is a "floor" of red water from a multitude of purple bacteria. Then there is a layer of sea water, in which dwarf sea fish, anemones and starfish are found. Above, the water is brackish - jellyfish and crustaceans live here, as well as freshwater fish. The upper layer - fresh - is inhabited by freshwater. During high tides, seawater seeps into the lake through the sand and pebble bank that separates the lake from the sea. Heavier water - sea - and less heavy - fresh - almost do not mix with each other, since salty water enters the lake from the side, through the rampart, and fresh water - from above, from rains and melting snows.

Some water salt lakes has healing properties. Lake Duzkan in Turkmenistan is located on the left bank of the Amu Darya, at the western edge of the Sayat village. The concentration of the brine is so high that it forms a thick crust. In summer, especially on weekends, on Duzkan, or, as the locals call it, Lake Sayak, hundreds of people take salt baths - they are treated for rheumatism.

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What is the name of the only lake in the world, into which about 300 rivers and rivulets flow, but only one flows out? Is it really od

When describing Lake Baikal, all the time you have to resort exclusively to superlatives. It is about 25 million years old and is undoubtedly the oldest lake on Earth (the second oldest Lake Tanganyika in Africa is only 2 million years old). This is the deepest freshwater lake in the world (1620 m): it is 396 m deeper than the second deepest lake Tanganyika (1223 m). Its length is 636 km, its maximum width is 79 km, and its minimum width is 25 km; total length coastline 1995 km.
Globally, the drinking water supply of Lake Baikal, located on the territory of Russia, is 1/5 and exceeds the water volume of the five Great Lakes of North America combined. In order to imagine how large the water reserve of this lake is, suffice it to say that to fill the lake basin, the deepest point of which lies 5-6 thousand meters below sea level, all the rivers of the world would have to drain water here within 300 days. Baikal is one of the oldest lakes on the planet. Its age is estimated at 25 million years. Despite such a venerable age, signs of aging are not observed in him. 336 rivers flow into Baikal, but the main role in the water balance of the lake, namely, 50% of the annual inflow of water, is made by the waters of the Selenga River. Getting into Baikal, its upper 50-meter layer is repeatedly cleaned by epishura crustaceans living in it, saturated with oxygen and defended for years. Water exchange in the northern basin of the lake occurs with a frequency of 225 years, in the middle - 132 years, in the southern - 66 years, which makes it suitable for drinking as drinking water without any additional purification.
Only one flows out of it - the Angara, which ultimately flows into the Yenisei, flowing into the Kara Sea, located far beyond the Arctic Circle in the Arctic Ocean.

The water of Lake Baikal and the Angara River flowing from it is probably the cleanest in Russia. However, there are almost no useful substances in it: the content of calcium, magnesium, potassium, bicarbonates is two to ten times lower than the optimal one, which is aggravated by the deficiency of trace elements - iodine and fluorine.

Almost every geographical name has a history of origin. It has long been no secret why the Red Sea was called the Red Sea. It is known from school that this body of water is the saltiest (not counting dead sea), not a single river flows into it. This sea is the youngest of its kind, it has no equal in beauty and diversity of the underwater world.

The sea is famous for its coral reefs, most of which are bright red. Since the water is crystal clear, it looks red from a bird's eye view. There is also a version about large accumulations of algae or fish, which give the water a corresponding red tint.

2. The color of the rocks.

The sailors of antiquity were delighted with the unusual red rocks reflected in the sea water, so they christened it Red. Why the hills were of this color, whether from the setting sun, or from the rock, history is silent.

3. The color of the blood.

According to the Bible, Moses led his people through the parting waters of the Red Sea. When the foot of the last Jew stepped on land, the sea came together, burying the bodies of the pursuers. In that place, the water turned red from their blood, and therefore they began to call the sea space Red.

4. Misinterpretation of the ancient name.

Arabs found letters ancient people- Himyarites, who lived on the coast of the sea until the 6th century. Their writing did not display short vowels, so the name of the sea, consisting of three consonant letters "x", "m", "r" was interpreted as "Ahmar", which means "red" in Arabic.

5. Translator's mistake.

According to the Bible, Moses with his people passed through the "reed sea", translating it into English looks like "reed sea". There is an assumption that there was an error, one letter was lost, and "reed" turned into "red sea" - "Red".

6. Geographical location.

According to the ancient Assyrian calendar, the cardinal points were associated with certain colors. For example, red symbolized south, black - north, green - east, white - west. So it turned out that the sea located in the south began to be called Red.

7. Color of foreign bodies.

According to one version, it could be numerous petals of red flowers, according to another - red ground pepper. But scientists put forward a third, associated with a large number of marine life of the corresponding color.

Red Ocean Slice Love Stories

But how they could get into the water, explain several very real stories.

Story 1. Love is red

Oddly enough, each person associates love with different colors: from white to black with the most unusual shades and blotches, even a striped one. In Feng Shui, this feeling is green. But one person proved that his love is bright red, like pink petals, and huge, like the sea.

It happened a very long time ago, even before our era, so the names of the heroes of history, unfortunately, have not reached the present day. Then a young guy lived on the coast of the sea, he could not boast of beauty and strength. But he was gifted with a big kind heart and a sharp mind.

The guy was from a poor family, worked from morning to evening, tirelessly. It so happened that at one of the holidays, where all the inhabitants of the city gathered, he saw a beautiful girl, from whom he could not take his eyes off. Subsequently, the young man found out that she was the daughter of one of the most respected people in the city. And the saddest thing is that preparations were underway for the wedding, which was to take place in a few weeks.

The lover tried to throw the girl out of his head and heart, but he could not help himself. Every minute her waist in a red cape rose up in front of him, her blue, almost transparent eyes, looked into the very soul. Her hair the color of sand, wavy like dunes at the bottom of the sea, did not allow her to breathe calmly.

Realizing that the chances of winning the girl's heart are very small, the guy decided on a desperate step. He began to ponder the seemingly almost unrealistic plan to conquer a woman's heart.

The girl went out to the balcony of her house every morning to admire the sunrise, which illuminated the clear water with bright rays. The sight she saw one morning struck a young soul.

The entire surface of the sea, which was in the field of view, turned from transparent blue to bright red. To find out what happened, the girl went down to the sea. On the shore I saw a man in a boat who did not take his eyes off her. What happened to the water, why did its color change? It turns out that the entire surface was strewn with scarlet rose petals.

The girl, fascinated by what she saw, without hesitation got into the boat, the bottom of which was covered with pink petals, only white, and looked at the young man in surprise. Words spoken during boat trip guy, forever remained in the heart of the girl. She fell in love with him at first sight and realized that she would not be happy without him. So no one else saw them. And the rose petals swayed for a long time on the waves of the sea, which is why the locals called it Red.

Story 2. The peppery sea

In ancient times, a merchant lived in the city on the shore of a warm reservoir. He made his fortune by trading in spices, especially paprika. Often a person left his home, spending time on the ship because of his profession.

The merchant lived half his life, but he never started a family. They did not like him in the city for his greed and anger. The whole house was stuffed with gold, jewelry, and bags of spices. The merchant did not participate in the life of the city, did not help the poor, and was cruel to the defenseless.

The people decided to expel him by a general meeting. They were allowed to take all the goods and sail to other shores. Out of greed, the merchant so loaded his ship that, not having time to hide behind the horizon, the ship sank. A few hours later, the sea turned scarlet from a huge amount of pepper scattered.

It is interesting:

The gates of cities in Ancient China had different colors, depending on which side of the world they went to. Also, the tips of the arrows in the modern compass have the corresponding colors: red, black, green and white, respectively denoting the parts of the world: south, north, east and west.

In the first "documents" dating from the second century BC, the Red Sea could be referred to as Eritrean (Eritrea is a state on the shores of the Red Sea from the East of Africa), and in the 16th century it was called Suez.

If you break off a branch of a bright coral, then after a few minutes without water, it will lose its attractiveness and become off-white or brown. Therefore, tourists cannot get a trophy in the form of red corals, and only a photo of it can preserve such beauty for demonstration to family and friends.

This sea is recognized as the cleanest. Most likely, due to the fact that rivers do not flow into it. As a rule, it is they who apply sand, silt and other water polluting particles with the current.

The water here is the saltiest. Firstly, rivers do not enter the sea, that is, there is no inflow of fresh water, and secondly, high temperatures of water and air contribute to intensive evaporation of water, which further increases the concentration of salts. Today it is 41 g per liter of water, in the Black Sea it is only 8 g.

The Red Sea is gradually increasing in size. It is located in a seismic zone where the plates move without stopping. Therefore, the banks diverge, the displacement reaches up to 1 cm per year, which means that over a century the border will expand by 1 m.

History keeps many mysteries and unusual events. That is why the White Sea is called that way, so far no definite answer has been received. Often, the origin of geographical names has several versions, which are supplemented by modern interpretations. It is often difficult to grasp the line between fiction and reality.

One of my favorite school books is the novel “ Quiet Don". Therefore, I associate this river with the Cossacks, with their free life, with the beauties of nature. And what kind of river is this, where does it originate from and where does it end?

The source and mouth of the Don

Oddly enough, in different time different lakes were considered the source of the Don. Once it was called the source of the lake Ivan. This assumption was later refuted. Now the place where the don originates, we know for sure. It located in Novomoskovsk. There is even an architectural monument called "The Source of the Don". However, even now many people mistakenly consider it to be the source of the Shatsk reservoir, next to which it flows.

And where does the Don flow? There is only one answer to this question - to the Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea. Once I managed to visit the Sea of ​​Azov. It is completely unlike other seas on which I was lucky enough to rest. It is very shallow, due to which it warms up strongly with the sun's rays. You can enter it far, far, and the water does not even reach the neck.

Here the river bed is divided into many branches, the delta of which covers an area of ​​as much as 540 sq. km. The largest of them are:


Don River: what is it

The river valley is flat, there are no high rapids. Its floodplain is wide enough. In the lower reaches, the width reaches 15 km. The Don River flows calmly, without haste. It is no coincidence that Sholokhov called Don quiet!

As for the water regime of the river, despite the vast catchment area, the water content of the Don is not large. This is mainly due to the fact that the river flows in the steppe and forest-steppe. The water level along the entire length of the river is 8-13 m.

V economic activity human Don is actively involved. This river is one of the most important waterways. Here you can constantly find ships.


An interesting feature of the river is flood, passing as if in two waves. The first is "cold" when melt water gets into the river from the lower reaches. The second is "warm" when waters come in large quantities from the upper course.

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