Ancient Megalake Paratethys Held 10x More Water Than All Modern Lakes Combined
A team at Utrecht University confirmed that Megalake Paratethys, which existed 11 million years ago, was the largest lake in Earth's history, holding 1.77 million cubic kilometers of water—over ten times the volume of all current lakes combined. The lake, which spanned 2.8 million square kilometers from the Alps to Kazakhstan, was formed when rising mountains isolated the ancient Paratethys Sea from the ocean. Its eventual drainage 6.7 million years ago created a massive waterfall, and its legacy informs modern concerns about methane release and carbon storage in the Black Sea.