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Ten Highest Lakes in the World
A lake is a body of fresh- or saltwater that is normally found in a basin (a sunken area or one with
lower elevation than the area surrounding it) surrounded by land. They can be formed naturally via
several different physical processes, or they can be
artifi cial and created by humans for different uses.
Nevertheless, the earth is home to hundreds of thousands of lakes that vary in size, type and location.
Some of these lakes are located in very low elevations, while others are high in mountain ranges.
The following is a list of the earth’s ten highest lakes as arranged by their altitude:
1. Ojos del Salado
Elevation: 20,965 ft (6,390 m)
Location: Argentina
2. Lhagba Pool
Elevation: 20,892 ft (6,368 m)
Location: Tibet
3. Changtse Pool
Elevation: 20,394 ft (6,216 m)
Location: Tibet
4. East Rongbuk Pool
Elevation: 20,013 ft (6,100 m)
Location: Tibet
5. Acamarachi Pool
Elevation: 1 9,520 ft (5,950 m)
Location: Chile
6. Lake Licancabur
Elevation: 19,410 ft (5,916 m)
Location: Bolivia and Chile
7. Aguas Calientes Pool
Elevation: 19,130 ft (5,831 m)
Location: Chile
8. Ridonglabo Lake
Elevation: 19,032 ft (5,801 m)
Location: Tibet
9. Poquentica Lake
Elevation: 18,865 ft (5,750 m)
Location: Bolivia and Chile
10. Damavand Pool
Elevation: 18,536 ft (5,650 m)
Location: Iran
Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and
Bolivia, is the world’s highest navigable lake. It
is at 12,503 ft (3,811 m) in elevation. It is additionally the largest lake in South America based
on volume of water.
6.9.2.2 High Altitude Lentic Bodies
of Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan, lying between 26° and
29° N, is a little landlocked country in the eastern part of the Himalayas. Bhutan borders China
to the north and India to the east, south and
west. Bhutan (Fig. 6.1 ) can be divided into three
zones, namely, the southern foothills and plains
with altitudes <2,000 m, the Inner Himalayas
with altitudes varying between 2,000 and
3,000 m, and the Great Himalayas which have
altitudes between 3,000 and 7,500 m. Bhutan
has >590 natural lakes of various sizes, most of
them being small and located at altitude
>2,200 m MSL. The estimated total area of
these lakes is c 4250 ha. There is one man-made
reservoir in Bhutan, the Chukha (area 150 ha)
situated on the River Wang near the border with
India. In addition to above, there were about 175
ponds (each of 40 ha approx.) in the subtropical
hills of southern Bhutan as major fi sh-producing
area in Bhutan primarily through polyculture
(Dhendup and Boyd 1994 ). It may be noted here
that water temperatures generally exceed 20 °C
at Gaylegphug (max. 21 °C), Phepsu (max.
25 °C), Kalikhola (max. 26 °C), Sarbhang Khola
(max. 26 °C) and so on.
Bhutan is rich in coldwater fi sh and fi sheries.
The rivers and lakes have predominantly coldwater and torrential stream fauna except in the foothills and plains (Dubey 1978 ). A total of 41
indigenous fi sh species are known to occur in rivers and lakes of Bhutan. These include 8 exotic
species (including the coldwater brown trout) and
7 species of Cyprinidae (introduced for warm
water aquaculture). Amongst the coldwater species, the indigenous asla ( Schizothorax progastus )
and Himalayan trout ( Barilius spp.) are the most
common in all rivers. Brown trout was introduced
in 1930s, and until the early 1980s, it was raised in
two trout hatcheries for stocking into rivers and
streams. The stocking was discontinued in 1983
on the assumption that it was competing with
indigenous coldwater fi sh, especially asla
( Schizothorax progastus ) which is held in high
esteem by the Bhutanese. Other indigenous species of economic interest are Neolissochilus
hexagonolepis (found notably in rivers Manas,
6.9 High Altitude (HA) Lentic Bodies
Ten Highest Lakes in the World
A lake is a body of fresh- or saltwater that is normally found in a basin (a sunken area or one with
lower elevation than the area surrounding it) surrounded by land. They can be formed naturally via
several different physical processes, or they can be
artifi cial and created by humans for different uses.
Nevertheless, the earth is home to hundreds of thousands of lakes that vary in size, type and location.
Some of these lakes are located in very low elevations, while others are high in mountain ranges.
The following is a list of the earth’s ten highest lakes as arranged by their altitude:
1. Ojos del Salado
Elevation: 20,965 ft (6,390 m)
Location: Argentina
2. Lhagba Pool
Elevation: 20,892 ft (6,368 m)
Location: Tibet
3. Changtse Pool
Elevation: 20,394 ft (6,216 m)
Location: Tibet
4. East Rongbuk Pool
Elevation: 20,013 ft (6,100 m)
Location: Tibet
5. Acamarachi Pool
Elevation: 1 9,520 ft (5,950 m)
Location: Chile
6. Lake Licancabur
Elevation: 19,410 ft (5,916 m)
Location: Bolivia and Chile
7. Aguas Calientes Pool
Elevation: 19,130 ft (5,831 m)
Location: Chile
8. Ridonglabo Lake
Elevation: 19,032 ft (5,801 m)
Location: Tibet
9. Poquentica Lake
Elevation: 18,865 ft (5,750 m)
Location: Bolivia and Chile
10. Damavand Pool
Elevation: 18,536 ft (5,650 m)
Location: Iran
Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and
Bolivia, is the world’s highest navigable lake. It
is at 12,503 ft (3,811 m) in elevation. It is additionally the largest lake in South America based
on volume of water.
6.9.2.2 High Altitude Lentic Bodies
of Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan, lying between 26° and
29° N, is a little landlocked country in the eastern part of the Himalayas. Bhutan borders China
to the north and India to the east, south and
west. Bhutan (Fig. 6.1 ) can be divided into three
zones, namely, the southern foothills and plains
with altitudes <2,000 m, the Inner Himalayas
with altitudes varying between 2,000 and
3,000 m, and the Great Himalayas which have
altitudes between 3,000 and 7,500 m. Bhutan
has >590 natural lakes of various sizes, most of
them being small and located at altitude
>2,200 m MSL. The estimated total area of
these lakes is c 4250 ha. There is one man-made
reservoir in Bhutan, the Chukha (area 150 ha)
situated on the River Wang near the border with
India. In addition to above, there were about 175
ponds (each of 40 ha approx.) in the subtropical
hills of southern Bhutan as major fi sh-producing
area in Bhutan primarily through polyculture
(Dhendup and Boyd 1994 ). It may be noted here
that water temperatures generally exceed 20 °C
at Gaylegphug (max. 21 °C), Phepsu (max.
25 °C), Kalikhola (max. 26 °C), Sarbhang Khola
(max. 26 °C) and so on.
Bhutan is rich in coldwater fi sh and fi sheries.
The rivers and lakes have predominantly coldwater and torrential stream fauna except in the foothills and plains (Dubey 1978 ). A total of 41
indigenous fi sh species are known to occur in rivers and lakes of Bhutan. These include 8 exotic
species (including the coldwater brown trout) and
7 species of Cyprinidae (introduced for warm
water aquaculture). Amongst the coldwater species, the indigenous asla ( Schizothorax progastus )
and Himalayan trout ( Barilius spp.) are the most
common in all rivers. Brown trout was introduced
in 1930s, and until the early 1980s, it was raised in
two trout hatcheries for stocking into rivers and
streams. The stocking was discontinued in 1983
on the assumption that it was competing with
indigenous coldwater fi sh, especially asla
( Schizothorax progastus ) which is held in high
esteem by the Bhutanese. Other indigenous species of economic interest are Neolissochilus
hexagonolepis (found notably in rivers Manas,
6.9 High Altitude (HA) Lentic Bodies