Lake Okeechobee

Postcard US-3223053 to Switzerland shows a satellite image of Lake Okeechobee in Florida, the second largest freshwater lake contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states in the U.S. Lake Michigan is the largest.

For the largest lakes of the all 50 U.S. States by area including freshwater and saltwater lakes, if the area accounted for the lake includes the area partially in Canada or Mexico, Lake Superior is the largest while Lake Okeechobee ranks tenth.

Okeechobee covers 1,900 square kilometers or 730 sq miles, with an average depth of 3 meters or 9 feet. It is the headwaters of the Everglades wetland ecosystem.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe

In comparison with Lake Baikal, Russia discussed yesterday, Lake Tahoe, located along the border between California and Nevada in the United States, is also a large freshwater lake. At a surface elevation of 1,897 m or 6,225 ft, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. With a depth of  501 m or 1,645 ft, it's the second-deepest lake in the United States. The deepest lake in the United States is Crater Lake in Oregon at 593 m or 1,945 ft; and the deepest lake in the world is Lake Baikal in Russia at 1,642 m or 5,387 ft.

Lake Tahoe is ranked as the 26th by volume in the world at 151 cu km while Lake Baikal is the largest with a volume of 23,600 cu km. Lake Tahoe was formed about 2 million years ago. It is relatively young, compared to Lake Baikal's age at 25 million years.

Although Lake Tahoe is known for its great clarity, the clarity of the lake had been decreasing historically, with the rate of decrease slowing. Furthermore, the lake's clarity has increased from 2011 to 2013. We hope this trend will hold.

Postcard US-2193280 showing Lake Tahoe was received on April 25, 2013.

Lake Baikal, Russia

Lake Baikal, Russia

The postcard RU-1836095 received yesterday shows Lake Baikal, a rift lake, in Siberia, Russia. Lake Baikal is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world. It is also the deepest (1,642 m or 5,387 ft); the clearest;  and the oldest (25 million years) of all lakes.

Lake Baikal area is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, with 2/3 of those being unique to the region. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.