Folks in our neck of the woods tend to be a bit biased regarding big lakes.
That’s understandable when 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water flows through our region. But are North America’s lakes the greatest of lakes?
That depends on how you measure.
Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,700 square miles dwarfing Siberia’s Lake Baikal’s mere 12,248 square miles.
But at 25 million years old and with a depth of 5,600 feet (Lake Superior is only 1,330 feet deep), Lake Baikal is the oldest, deepest lake in the world. It is so deep that it holds more water than all five of the North American Great Lakes combined.
A tiebreaker?
How about how they sound? Check out this video of drummers using Lake Baikal ice as percussion instruments.
How’s that compare with the beat of Lake Superior ice?
I’m not sure. I’ve heard Lake Superior’s surf crash the shore. But I’ve yet to hear its ice played by anyone.
But if you want to find out, we’ll post it here.