A rift lake is a type of tectonic lake that forms when a basin caused by fault subsidence is filled with water. It is characterised by a simple elongated shape and straight shorelines, steep slopes, great depth and a regular distribution pattern. Examples in China include Dianchi Lake and Erhai Lake in Yunnan Province, Qionghai Lake in Sichuan Province, Hulun Lake in Inner Mongolia and Qinghai Lake in Qinghai Province. The lake system in the Great Rift Valley (including Lake Tanganyika) in East Africa is a world-renowned rift lake system (Fig. 10).
Legendary horse anchor post of Genghis Khan in Hulun Lake
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
(2020). Rift Lake. In: Chen, A., Ng, Y., Zhang, E., Tian, M. (eds) Dictionary of Geotourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_2074
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_2074
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2537-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2538-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences