Tectonism—or movement of the Earth’s crust—has been responsible for the formation of very large basins. Late in the Miocene Epoch (about 23 to 5.3 million years ago), broad, gentle earth movements resulted in the isolation of a vast inland sea across southern Asia and southeastern Europe. Through the Paleogene and Neogene periods (from about 65 to 2.6 million years ago), sub-basins developed that gradually were characterized by a great range of salinities. Resumption of communication with the oceans occurred later, and there is evidence of considerable variation in water levels. The present remnants of these inland bodies of water include the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, along with numerous smaller lakes. The Black Sea, which was also once part of this large inland basin, is now in direct communication with the oceans.

In some cases, elevated land areas may already contain depressions that eventually form lake basins. Lake Okeechobee, Florida, is cited as being such a basin, formed by uplift of the ocean floor.

Tectonic uplift may interfere with natural land-drainage patterns in such a way as to produce lake basins. The Great Basin of South Australia, some of the lakes in Central Africa (e.g., Lakes Kioga and Kwania), and to some extent Lake Champlain, in the northeastern United States, are examples of this mechanism. Land subsidence due to earthquake activity also has resulted in the development of depressions in which lakes have evolved. Many such cases have been reported within the past 300 years.

The damming of valleys as a result of various tectonic phenomena has resulted in the formation of a few lake basins, but faulting, in its great variety of forms, has been responsible for the formation of many important lake basins. Abert Lake, in Oregon, lies in the depression formed by a tilted fault block against the higher block. Indeed, many lakes in the western United States are located in depressions formed through faulting, including Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevada, California. Great Salt Lake, Utah, and other nearby salt lakes are remnants of Lake Bonneville, a large lake of Pleistocene age (i.e., about 11,700 to 2,600,000 years old) which was formed at least partly by faulting activity.

In other parts of the world too, faulting has played an important role in basin formation. Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika, the two deepest lakes in the world, occupy basins formed by complexes of grabens (downdropped faulted blocks). These lakes are among the oldest of modern lakes, as are other graben lakes, particularly those within the East African Rift System, which extends through the East African lake system and includes the Red Sea (see also tectonic landforms: Rift valleys).

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Basins formed from volcanic activity are also greatly varied in type. The emanation of volcanic material from beneath the surface can be explosive, or it can issue in a gentle and regular manner. This range of activity and the variation of types of material which may be involved produce many different types of basins.

One broad category includes those occupying the actual volcanic craters or their remnants. Crater lakes may occupy completely unmodified cinder cones, but these are rare. Craters caused by explosions or by the collapse of the roofs of underground magma (molten silica) chambers and those caused by explosion of new volcanic sources and that are built of nonvolcanic material are other examples. The latter are termed maars, following the local name for such forms in Germany. They are found, however, in several locations, including Iceland, Italy, and New Zealand. The maars of the volcanic district of Eifel in Germany are among the best known of these formations.

The collapse of magma chambers and the development of very large surface craters called calderas is an important source of lake basins. Crater Lake, Oregon, is a typical example, exhibiting characteristically great depth and a high encircling rim. Some caldera basins evolved with gently sloping sides, however, due to the deposition of material from a series of explosions and a gentler collapse of the structure. Secondary cones may develop within calderas, as shown by Wizard Island in Crater Lake. The largest caldera in the world, which contains Lake Toba in Sumatra, was formed through a combination of volcanic action and tectonic activity. Lake Toba’s basin is contained in a strike-slip fault belt along the entire length of the Barisan Mountains of Sumatra. A vast initial eruption of lava under gas pressure collapsed the magma reservoir, forming a depression that filled with water, producing the lake. Renewed volcanic activity subsequently led to the formation of an island in the centre, but a second collapse later cut it in two. Additional tectonic activity has further modified the lake’s configuration.

Lake basins may arise from the action of lava flows that emanate from volcanic fissures or craters. Lake Mývatyn, in Iceland, was formed in a basin arising from the collapse of the interior part of a large lava flow. Other basins have formed as the result of volcanic damming. This usually happens where a lava flow interrupts the existing drainage pattern.

Lake basins also may form following the blockage of a drainage depression by landslides. These may be temporary in nature because of the eroding action of the lake on the damming material. Lake Sārez in the Pamirs is stable, being dammed by a rockslide.