Rift Lakes

Rift Lake in Siberia. Credit: Benutzer:Sansculotte--Wikipedia

Rift lakes form when a basin is created by tectonic rifting. Essentially, when tectonic plates pull apart, Earth's crust fractures, leaving deep linear depressions in the surface. When these depressions fill with water (because they are low points on Earth's surface), they are called rift lakes.

Map of Tectonic Landforms

Other Tectonic Landforms