Owens Lake: USA

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This lake is truly bizarre because as we all know a lake contains water but Lake Owens does not instead, its a large dry lake located in eastern California’s Owens Valley, located about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Lone Pine, California. Unlike most dry lakes in the Basin and Range Province that have been dry for thousands of years, Owens held significant water until 1924, fed by the Owens River.

Lake Enriquillo: Dominican Republic

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Usually, only a few animal species thrive on saltwater lakes. Lake Enriquillo is a lake in the Dominican Republic. It is one of only a few saltwater lakes in the world inhabited by crocodiles. This is unusual because crocodiles are known to live on freshwater lakes. Lake Enriquillo is located in a rift valley that extends 79 miles (127 km) from Port-au-Prince Bay in Haiti in the west to near Neiba Bay in the Dominican Republic in the east.

Hanging Lake: USA

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The Hanging Lake is a unique lake because even if the water is crystal clear, people are not allowed to swim in the lake. The fragile shoreline of Hanging Lake is composed of travertine. Travertine is created when dissolved limestone is deposited on rocks and logs, creating travertine layers. According to experts, the oils from human skin help to speed along the erosion of the travertine so it is suggested that hikers not wade in the water in an effort to help preserve the lake for future generations. Hanging Lake is located in Glenwood Canyon, about 7 miles east of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The lake is reached via a trailhead located near I-70 in the bottom of the canyon. The trail follows Dead Horse Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River. The dissolved limestone comes from the Mississippian aged Leadville Formation, which Dead Horse Creek flows through.

Lake Urmia: Iran

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Looking at this lake nothing seems to be unusual. Well, Lake Urmia is actually a salt lake. It is located in northwestern Iran near Turkey. The lake is between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea.

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It is the largest lake inside Iran and the second largest salt water lake on earth, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km² (2,000 mile²). At its maximum extent, it is about 140 km (87 miles) long, and 55 km (34 miles) wide. Its deepest point is approximately 16 m (52 ft) deep and contains 102 islands.

Lake Vostok: Antarctica

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One of the most bizarre lakes in the world is Lake Vostok. By simply looking at the map of the frozen continent of Antarctica, there is no way you will think that it contains several lakes. Lake Vostok, which means “east” in the Russian language, is the largest of more than 140 subglacial lakes found under the surface of Earth’s southern-most continent. It is located, beneath Russia’s Vostok Station, 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) under the surface of the central Antarctic ice sheet. It is 250 km long by 50 km wide at its widest point, thus similar in size to Lake Ontario, and is divided into two deep basins by a ridge. The water over the ridge is about 200 m (650 ft) deep, compared to roughly 400 m (1,300 ft) deep in the northern basin and 800 m (2,600 ft) deep in the southern. Lake Vostok covers an area of 15,690 km² (6,058 mi²). It has an estimated volume of 5,400 km³ (1,300 cubic miles) and consists of fresh water. The average depth is 344 m. In May 2005 an island was found in the center of the lake.

For related articles see

The Most Unique & Bizarre Lakes From Around the World

The World’s Most Captivating Lagoons and Blue Holes

The World’s Most Beautiful Bays

Interesting Information About the Earth