The twin lighthouses of St Joseph on Lake Michigan have been transformed by a winter storm. Ice encases the buildings, giant icicles hang from the piers and the beach is frosted white. Here: Huge icicles hang from the pier. (Photo by Mike Kline/Barcroft Media)

Lake Assal is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura in the Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some 120 km (75 mi) west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake which lies 155 m (509 ft) below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest land depression on Earth after the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee.

Kashmiri vegetable vendors assemble at a floating market in the interiors of the Dal Lake in Srinagar April 17, 2012. (Photo by Danish Ismail/Reuters)

A hyena eyes a herd of zebra at Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya, August 19, 2015. The Park is home to some of the world's most majestic wildlife including lions, rhinos, zebras and flamingos. The scenery is stunning, from forests of acacia trees to animals congregating at the shores to drink. UNESCO says that with rapid population growth nearby, the area is under "considerable threat from surrounding pressures," particularly deforestation, a contributing factor in floods. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

Located in Siberia, Laka Baikal is the largest freshwater lake on the planet that contains approximately 20 percent of the Earth’s freshwater. Apart from being the oldest lake in the world at over 25 million years old, Lake Baikal is also home to over two thousand varieties of flora and fauna, of which almost 1,600 are endemic to the lake. The water of Lake Baikal is renowned for being some of the clearest in the world. When the lake freezes during the winter, an amazing phenomena takes place: large shards of transparent ice form on the surface of the lake, giving the amazing appearance of turquoise ice.

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Lake Natron is a salt lake located in northern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border, in the eastern branch of the East African Rift. The lake is fed by the Southern Ewaso Ng'iro River and also by mineral-rich hot springs. It is quite shallow, less than three meters (10 feet) deep, and varies in width depending on its water level, which changes due to high levels of evaporation, leaving concentrations of salt and other minerals, notably sodium carbonate (natron).

Yueyaquan is a crescent-shaped lake in an oasis, 6 km south of the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province, China. It was named Yueyaquan in the Qing Dynasty. According to measurements made in 1960, the average depth of the lake was 4 to 5 meters, with a maximum depth of 7.5 metres In the following 40 years, the depth of the lake continually declined. In the early 1990s, its area had shrunk to only 5,500 m2 with an average depth of 0.9 meter (maximum 1.3 meter). In 2006, the local government with help of the central government started to fill the lake and restore its depth; its depth and size have been growing yearly since then. The lake and the surrounding deserts are very popular with tourists, who are offered camel and 4x4 rides.