Lakes

Overview

There are more than 100 million lakes in the world – and their diversity is as great as their number: lakes supply millions of people with drinking water. The world’s freshwater lakes contain forty times as much water as all the rivers. Many lakes are a hotspot of biodiversity, while other lakes are subject to extreme conditions: They are saltier than the oceans, toxic or hot. Marine biologist Uli Kunz dives into this special habitat – and explores the world of lakes: from the Scandinavian lake district to Lake Constance and the great lakes of Africa and North America. What lives in the depths? How do lakes change over the course of time? What myths and legends are there? We show how lakes form and disappear again. After all, bodies of water have a limited lifespan: some only exist for a few months, others for millions of years.