Lake Baikal

The oldest and deepest lake on earth—it reaches a depth of one mile in some spots—is also home to our planet's only freshwater seals. Come winter, the lake transforms into a wonderland, with jagged ice caves encircling what amounts to the world's largest ice skating rink.

goes down to a depth of 1,642 meters (5,387 feet) Lake Baikal, which holds more fresh water than any other lake on Earth

The bottom of the lake is more than a full kilometer below sea level, but the rift valley that created it goes far deeper. According to research at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, there are approximately an additional 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) of sediment that have fallen into the rift valley over time, placing the rift floor an incredible 8-to-11 kilometers (5-to-7 miles) beneath the surface.

This makes the geological rift that's home to Lake Baikal the deepest continental rift on planet Earth.

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