<p>The Taklamakan.  BEHOLD!</p>

<p>I'm speculating but it sure looks like the dried bed of an old lake or inland sea to me!  It doesn't stretch the imagination to consider methods for filling it with water.  Divergent weather patterns, ice-age, etc.  Plus, before india began piledriving asia it was actually submerged (by the aforementioned Tethys sea) and portions are still below sea level.  A likely candidate. </p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/kjWPg.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-03T17:51:30.040Z
2015-07-03T17:51:30.040Z
punkerplunk
<p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethys_Ocean" rel="noreferrer">Tethys</a>, which was previously an ocean, became landlocked by the Indian subcontinent to form a massive body of water before the Indian plate collided with the Euarasian to form the Himalayas (about 250-400 Ma).</p>

<p>I don't see any visuals on the Tethys as a sea (as opposed to when it was an ocean) widely disseminated on the web. Here's an approximate diagram from my memory of a textbook:
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/r6t9k.jpg" alt="Tethys sea, landlocked by Indian and Eurasian plates, 300 Ma"></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-03T15:40:44.497Z
2015-07-03T15:40:44.497Z
Orun
<p>Was it the Mediterranean before it dried into small lakes? What was the biggest one before that?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-15T00:56:11.430Z
That's possible, but I don't know for sure.   More info on the Mediterranean here, it filled, they think about 5.33 million years ago but there were lakes there before then (picture in link).     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea#Tectonic_evolution   There was a large lake in the Sahara not that long ago, perhaps larger than any fresh water lake today, but not as large as the Caspian:   http://smithsonianscience.si.edu/2010/12/ancient-megalake-discovered-beneath-sahara-desert/
userLTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-03T15:13:47.907Z
Interesting question. I don't really have enough for an answer, but I see from [Blakey's maps](http://cpgeosystems.com/paleomaps.html) that he draws a large inland sea in Laurasia [in the Middle Jurassic](http://cpgeosystems.com/170Marect.jpg), and a sort of huge precursor to the Caspian [in the Miocene](http://cpgeosystems.com/020Marect.jpg). Possibly either or both were enclosed at some point. Neither looks as promising [on Scotese's maps](http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm). I haven't checked Stampfli.
Matt Hall
<earth-history><paleogeography>
When was the last time there was a landlocked body of water bigger than the Caspian?
ItsMyPostAndIllWriteIfIWnt2Wri
# When was the last time there was a landlocked body of water bigger than the Caspian?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-06-14)

Was it the Mediterranean before it dried into small lakes? What was the biggest one before that?

**Tags:** earth-history, paleogeography

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: That's possible, but I don't know for sure.   More info on the Mediterranean here, it filled, they think about 5.33 million years ago but there were lakes there before then (picture in link).     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea#Tectonic_evolution   There was a large lake in the Sahara not that long ago, perhaps larger than any fresh water lake today, but not as large as the Caspian:   http://smithsonianscience.si.edu/2010/12/ancient-megalake-discovered-beneath-sahara-desert/  
> **username_2**: Interesting question. I don't really have enough for an answer, but I see from [Blakey's maps](http://cpgeosystems.com/paleomaps.html) that he draws a large inland sea in Laurasia [in the Middle Jurassic](http://cpgeosystems.com/170Marect.jpg), and a sort of huge precursor to the Caspian [in the Miocene](http://cpgeosystems.com/020Marect.jpg). Possibly either or both were enclosed at some point. Neither looks as promising [on Scotese's maps](http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm). I haven't checked Stampfli.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-07-03. Score: 5

The [Tethys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethys_Ocean), which was previously an ocean, became landlocked by the Indian subcontinent to form a massive body of water before the Indian plate collided with the Euarasian to form the Himalayas (about 250-400 Ma).

I don't see any visuals on the Tethys as a sea (as opposed to when it was an ocean) widely disseminated on the web. Here's an approximate diagram from my memory of a textbook:
![Tethys sea, landlocked by Indian and Eurasian plates, 300 Ma](https://i.sstatic.net/r6t9k.jpg)


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### Answer by username_3 on 2015-07-03. Score: 4

The Taklamakan. BEHOLD!

I'm speculating but it sure looks like the dried bed of an old lake or inland sea to me! It doesn't stretch the imagination to consider methods for filling it with water. Divergent weather patterns, ice-age, etc. Plus, before india began piledriving asia it was actually submerged (by the aforementioned Tethys sea) and portions are still below sea level. A likely candidate.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/kjWPg.jpg)


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